October 13, 2022

You were called to be free, brothers and sisters; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh but serve one another through love.

Galatians 5:13

Devotional

Love feels like the most universal and elusive of the Fruits of the Spirit. Have you ever tried to explain what love means? Love can feel like snuggling a new baby or walking hand in hand through the park. Love songs saturate my Spotify playlist. The movies I am prone to choose have stories of love. James Bond, anyone? And then there are times I doubt love is real because I feel hurt or betrayed.

Scripture tells us that the true definition of love is grounded in who God is. It’s one of the surest things we can know about God, a virtue more extraordinary than faith and hope (1 Corinthians 13:13). Paul points out that true Christian liberty or freedom is the freedom to serve one another in love. As we get to know our heavenly Father, His love fills us. And it’s from that place of being fully loved that we realize we are free to serve one another in love. When we love our neighbors, we want something for them as much as we want it for ourselves. We can’t rally that kind of selflessness. We find it when we realize we're fully loved, fully known, and fully provided for by our heavenly Father.

Serving others is true freedom when we operate out of the overflow of God’s love for us.

For Reflection

Do you believe God loves you fully?

How are you using the freedom Jesus gives you?

Prayer

Gracious Lord, thank you that through Christ we are free, not to serve our own desires, but to serve others by demonstrating your great love for us. Draw us ever closer to you so that as your beloved children, made in your image, we can mirror your perfect love.