But just because we celebrate freedom doesn’t mean that very many of us are actually living out that freedom in our daily lives. In fact, I would suggest that freedom is one of those words that we too often use without really understanding what it means. Too many times today people define freedom as the ability to do anything they want to do. And if that is freedom then I know lots of people today who are doing anything they want to do but in the end find themselves in remarkable captivity. I would suggest that freedom is not the ability to do anything you want to do. Instead freedom is the capability of becoming who you were always destined to be.
This is what the book of Galatians is all about. Nowhere in the Bible is this idea more clear. Here Paul makes undeniable the power of the gospel to make us free. But what is surprising about this freedom is the way in which it is embraced. For Paul, freedom is the byproduct of loving our neighbor. For it is when we love our neighbor that the gospel creates true freedom in our lives. So this week, I invite you to come join us in a discussion of love, freedom and the gospel as we again make this declaration about who we are at Grace—We are Neighbors.