Galatians 4:31. So brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.
Every human being was made to be free. No, we aren’t born free. We are actually born quite in need of the control of others. We are born in bondage to our own needs and desires, not to mention sin. Even Adam and Eve weren’t created free. Yes, they were created for freedom, but freedom was something that had to both be given to them and received by them through the rejection of the Tree of Knowledge and the taking of the Tree of Life. Our first parents were free to eat from any tree in the garden except one. In choosing to obey God, they would have found true freedom, but we all know what happened.
The rest of the Old Testament is the story of God preparing his rescue mission to set free the hearts and minds of his beloved humanity. In and out of political freedom his chosen people go—the Egyptians, the Philistines, the Ammonites, the Babylonians. Over and over again, God rescues his people, just to watch them slip back into bondage. Why? Because they are never truly set free from their greatest enemy—sin.
But in the midst of all this Old Testament bondage, we are given glimpses of what the freedom of faith can look like, primarily in the story of Abraham and Sarah. Theirs is the story of choosing to receive everything from God—land, promise, blessing, offspring. All sight unseen. All beyond human knowledge and effort. All requiring simple trust in God alone. Not merit. Not effort. Not good works. Not law-keeping.
When we choose to live from this same faith in Christ, we become children of the free woman, Sarah. We are Isaacs. We are laughter, rejoicing our way through life in the joy of the Lord. Not because life is easier when you walk by faith. Quite the contrary. The life of faith will always be scarier and riskier. Like Abraham, we are on a journey to a land unseen. We are being asked to receive and use things that make no sense to us in the natural. Things like unconditional love, even for our enemies. Things like forgiveness and grace, even for the unrepentant. Living this way is risky. Keeping people under law protects our own hearts.
Living from faith leaves us wide open for pain and sorrow. But there’s actually no risk at all, for Christ has fortified our hearts with his own love and grace. He has blazed the trail, and he lights the path—freedom’s path into our bondage to God.
You: Is there any risk that the life of faith is asking you to embrace?
You in Christ: You ARE the child of the free woman. What might change today if you really believed this?
Christ in you: What “risk” do you need to take in order to live a life of faith?
Pray: Father, my freedom is bondage to you and your will. And I’m totally fine with that. Teach me to risk loving as you love (because there is no risk in your love). Amen.
