Galatians 4:21- 5:1
Be Still: Lord, I give this day – and this moment – to you. Help me turn my attention from life’s distractions and towards you and your presence. (Pause... close your eyes and.... breathe.) Come, lead me, and guide me today. I invite you into the depths of my heart. Amen
Read: Galatians 4:21- 5:1
‘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.’ (5:1)
Encounter: The other week, I was heading into work on what felt like a normal day. I picked up my rucksack and set off. But by the end of the day, a subconscious thought had become a conscious one – my back felt really heavy. When I looked inside, it was full of my kids’ water bottles, toys, and empty food wrappers from a trip we’d taken at the weekend. Without realising it, I’d spent the whole day carrying things I didn’t need, things that weren’t mine to carry, and things that simply shouldn’t have been in my work bag.
It was just a rucksack – easy enough to empty. But I wonder how often we walk through life carrying things in much the same way: burdens, weights, chains, even sin. Things that aren’t ours to carry. Things we don’t need anymore. Things that quietly slow us down. Too often, we forget that we have already been set free. The chains are broken. The burden has been lifted. The yoke has been undone.
There is so much about the gospel that we rightly celebrate – forgiveness, grace, compassion, healing, the gifts of the Spirit. All wonderful gifts of the Cross. But sometimes, I wonder if we miss something central. Freedom.
Freedom is the reason. Freedom is the point. Freedom is what the Cross secured. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
And yet, too often, we continue to walk around with rucksacks full of burdens and weights we were never meant to keep. Paul’s invitation is simple but strong: stand firm. Live free. Shake off what no longer belongs.
Apply: What’s in your rucksack that shouldn’t be? Do you take time to remind yourself that you are free – and to encourage yourself to live like it?
Devote: Jesus, I give you everything that burdens or enslaves me. Thank you that on the Cross you broke every chain and set me free. Help me to claim that freedom and to walk in it today.