"You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love." Galatians 5:13
Our pastor is currently speaking on a sermon series about the Holy Spirit. He said something today that fit in with this idea so I thought I would borrow it! He said, "When you became saved in Christ Jesus, God gave you a new nature; however, He left the old nature there. That is why we struggle with our flesh." I had never really thought of it like that.
Here in Galatians, God is confirming that we as His children were called to be free. Free! We aren't to be bound by sin or desires of the flesh. Our fleshy nature is innate. Our culture teaches us if we want something, we should have it. If you want something bad enough, you should have it right now. Our nature is to satisfy our "momentary" desires. Think about that. Desires of the flesh usually only satisfy us for a moment. God's freedom and grace will satisfy us forever.
Galatians 5:13 goes further saying that instead of indulging in the flesh, we should "serve one another humbly in love." What if God had put a period after the phrase "serve one another" instead? I believe that God knew just telling us to serve would only give us permission to do a duty instead of honoring Him fully. So he said, "serve one another humbly in love." It is one thing to serve but yet another to serve humbly in love. To serve humbly in love requires us to turn away from the flesh, turning from our own desires.
When is the last time God asked you to "serve one another?" Did you respond to His calling and serve "humbly in love?"
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