"Through" Love
"For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." ~ Galatians 5:13 (ESV)
That one verse is packed with theological goodness. First, it reminds believers that we have been called by God to live a life of freedom. To be called "called" means to be urgently invited into a new type of life. Through the gospel of Jesus Christ, God urgently invites us to receive freedom from sin and to enjoy a life in which sin is no longer master over us. By grace through faith, we are invited into a life of freedom - a life with new privileges and responsibilities.
Second, the verse warns us that it is very possible for followers of Jesus to turn back to a sinful life. It is possible for believes to walk back into the prison that Jesus has unlocked rather than to enjoy the freedom that Christ has won. Thus, each of us every day have a choice: walk in freedom or walk back into sin's prison.
Third, this verse teaches us that the opposite of a sinful lifestyle is a loving lifestyle. We can either embrace selfish sin (desires of the flesh) or we can embrace selfless love (serving others). Sin and love are opposites.
What is interesting in Galatians 5:13 is that the Apostle Paul says, "Through love serve one another." He didn't say, "IN love," but rather "THROUGH love." There is a profound difference between the two words. To say to serve IN love would refer to the spirit or the manner in which we are to serve. To say THROUGH love refers to how we are to serve. THROUGH refers to the means through which we are to lovingly serve others.
Clearly, as followers of Jesus, we should serve in a spirit of love. However, that is very often very difficult for us. We don't wake up every day with a loving disposition toward others. The truth is that our natural tendency is to be selfish rather than to be selfish. Typically, we wake up thinking about ourselves (sin) rather than thinking about others (love).
That is precisely why Paul choose to use the word "through." The word "through" means to enter into something and come out on the other side. Paul's point is that each day we need to enter into love. It's as we enter into love that we are able to come out on the other side with the capacity to serve others. In order to be selfless, we need to daily step into love and step through it. It's as we step into and through love that we are able to put the interests of others ahead of our own.
What does it mean to step into and through love on a daily basis? It means stepping into and through the gospel each day. In other words, it means stepping into and through God's love each day. What that means is gospeling ourselves daily. It's preaching the gospel of grace to ourselves every day. It is as we meditate on the enormity of our sin and what it truly deserves and how the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross removes our sin, that we are able to combat selfishness. It is as we contemplate God's love that we are able to love others. Relishing in the beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ, spurs us to serve others.
When we're lacking a spirit of love and thus lack the motivation to serve others, then the remedy is to step into and through love. The cure is to step into and through the gospel. And if we do so we will come out on the others side less selfish and more selfless.
The gospel sets us free from sin at the moment of our conversion (once and for all). The gospel is also what keeps empowers us to enjoy the freedom that Jesus secured for us; and we enjoy that freedom by preaching the gospel to ourselves daily. Let's step into God's love daily that we may come out on the other side and "through love serve one another."
In awe of Jesus,
Pastor Rick
That one verse is packed with theological goodness. First, it reminds believers that we have been called by God to live a life of freedom. To be called "called" means to be urgently invited into a new type of life. Through the gospel of Jesus Christ, God urgently invites us to receive freedom from sin and to enjoy a life in which sin is no longer master over us. By grace through faith, we are invited into a life of freedom - a life with new privileges and responsibilities.
Second, the verse warns us that it is very possible for followers of Jesus to turn back to a sinful life. It is possible for believes to walk back into the prison that Jesus has unlocked rather than to enjoy the freedom that Christ has won. Thus, each of us every day have a choice: walk in freedom or walk back into sin's prison.
Third, this verse teaches us that the opposite of a sinful lifestyle is a loving lifestyle. We can either embrace selfish sin (desires of the flesh) or we can embrace selfless love (serving others). Sin and love are opposites.
What is interesting in Galatians 5:13 is that the Apostle Paul says, "Through love serve one another." He didn't say, "IN love," but rather "THROUGH love." There is a profound difference between the two words. To say to serve IN love would refer to the spirit or the manner in which we are to serve. To say THROUGH love refers to how we are to serve. THROUGH refers to the means through which we are to lovingly serve others.
Clearly, as followers of Jesus, we should serve in a spirit of love. However, that is very often very difficult for us. We don't wake up every day with a loving disposition toward others. The truth is that our natural tendency is to be selfish rather than to be selfish. Typically, we wake up thinking about ourselves (sin) rather than thinking about others (love).
That is precisely why Paul choose to use the word "through." The word "through" means to enter into something and come out on the other side. Paul's point is that each day we need to enter into love. It's as we enter into love that we are able to come out on the other side with the capacity to serve others. In order to be selfless, we need to daily step into love and step through it. It's as we step into and through love that we are able to put the interests of others ahead of our own.
What does it mean to step into and through love on a daily basis? It means stepping into and through the gospel each day. In other words, it means stepping into and through God's love each day. What that means is gospeling ourselves daily. It's preaching the gospel of grace to ourselves every day. It is as we meditate on the enormity of our sin and what it truly deserves and how the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross removes our sin, that we are able to combat selfishness. It is as we contemplate God's love that we are able to love others. Relishing in the beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ, spurs us to serve others.
When we're lacking a spirit of love and thus lack the motivation to serve others, then the remedy is to step into and through love. The cure is to step into and through the gospel. And if we do so we will come out on the others side less selfish and more selfless.
The gospel sets us free from sin at the moment of our conversion (once and for all). The gospel is also what keeps empowers us to enjoy the freedom that Jesus secured for us; and we enjoy that freedom by preaching the gospel to ourselves daily. Let's step into God's love daily that we may come out on the other side and "through love serve one another."
In awe of Jesus,
Pastor Rick
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