Freedom is something that is far too costly for us to take casually. You cannot leave Washington D. C. without being very aware of the ideals of freedom. There are simply far too many memorials to visit that remind us of exactly why we are free. It is no accident that we live in the "land of the free." Much more is involved than just a Declaration of Independence. The same is obviously true in the spiritual sense. Galatians is that New Testament book that reminds every believer of the unique quality of living life without bondage. The apostle Paul declares that "it was for freedom that Christ set us free." The reasons are very much the same for the believer as it is for citizens of this great land.

Freedom is not cheap. It is not easy. It incurs a heavy cost in order to exist. On our trip, we saw many memorials to men and women who died in battle to defend freedom. We saw the exhibits of the 9/11 disaster when freedom was attacked in the most tangible way. We also saw the original Declaration of Independence on display. Our freedom today was bought with a heavy price over the years. It stands to reason that the believer also lives in a freedom paid for with at great cost. Paul writes that "Christ died to free us from our sins." That is no small act on our behalf. Real freedom begins and ends with the Easter event. We live without bondage to sin or to expectations because of the cross.

Freedom demands our ongoing vigilance in order to remain free. Men and women of the past fought in places all over the planet so we could remain free. There are very few places where the fight to remain free did not occur. The World War II veterans volunteered by the thousands to go to war across the world. The only thing we have to do to lose our freedom is to do nothing when others come against it. Again, the same is true spiritually speaking. Paul would tell the Galatians of his standing against those who wanted to curtail his liberty in Christ. He writes of taking a stand against the opponents of the good news. We face enemies both internal and external when it comes to living out our liberation. Sometimes that opponent is external as others want to tell us that faith in Christ is not enough. Sometimes that enemy may be within us in the form of attitudes or expectations that dowse our joy in God alone. We will have to stand up in God's power to all the obstacles we face in faith.

Freedom finally is not truly free until it is shared with others. We do not have a spotless record when it comes to this in our country. We wrote than all men are created equal then tolerated slavery for nearly 100 years. We then went another 100 years or so isolating people of other colors from sharing that equality. We still struggle with racism within our land even after we waged war to ensure other countries would enjoy freedom. The more we share our freedom with those in need the better we express that wonderful concept. Paul told the Galatians that freedom means to love one another, not devour each other. We struggle with that in church life also. The message of the gospel makes us all in the same need of grace. Yet we can turn around and withhold that same love from others. Freedom is a costly concept that relates to others around us. My hope is we keep learning and growing to lift others up without ever tearing anyone else down.

Bro. Trey