Freedom!

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
                             Galatians 5:1
What does Paul mean by writing about freedom? We know that his decision to follow Christ seemed to lead to less freedom, not more. He had been a Roman citizen, able to travel freely around the Mediterranean world and welcome in synagogues and courts. Now, he was having to be smuggled out of cities by the back door, was arrested on charges of trouble making and ended his life in prison. On the surface, he appears to have forfeited his freedom.
Paul knew that external circumstances are often outside of our control. We have no say over when and where we are born, what colour our skin is or what privileges we are entitled to. We cannot choose how others treat us, we often have no control over the ways in which our bodies fail us, our savings are lost, the workplace disappoints us.
What we can control is how we respond. Stand firm, says Paul! Do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery- because your true freedom is not found in the things around you, but in the thing within you. If you know Christ, then he has set you free and no-one can take that away. 

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