July 15th, 2026

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… You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:1, 13-14.

One of the core principles of our American society is freedom, and what a beautiful thing freedom is. The idea enshrined in our founding principles that all people can be free from oppression, regardless of race, color, or creed, is something to be proud of. Freedom, as a word or slogan, can be found on banners, shirts, hats, and fireworks; it is all around us, yet we often understand it in different ways. Often, I hear freedom expressed as the “ability to do and say what I want when I want.” And perhaps this is true, but in the Bible, God calls us to something much richer. The Apostle Paul tells us that, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” Meaning, that for the very purpose of freedom itself, He died to make us free. The question then is: what were we slaves to that we needed to be freed from? We were slaves to sin, to the desires of the flesh. We were held captive by our desire to serve ourselves and our hardness of heart towards others. Thus, when Jesus set us free, it was to a different sort of freedom than the “ability to do and say what I want when I want.” Paul tells us, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ”Thus, the freedom that Jesus offers us is not one which is self-serving, but is a freedom to serve others, a freedom from our inward-turned hearts. And, a freedom to joyfully live out obedience to the law of God, “For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” In this definition of freedom, Jesus was the freest person ever, for He lived as the servant of all. He was able to love, heal, serve, and sacrifice in total freedom.

We live in a world of conflicting definitions of freedom, perhaps those definitions even collide in our own hearts. Certainly, the world’s idea of freedom is appealing, but Christ calls us to something else, to joyfully live out the freedom He has given by serving one another with loving humility. It seems to me that this form of freedom truly leads to freedom for others, since it is always looking outward for ways to offer freedom and mercy. By the grace of God, may we truly be made free.

In Christ, Father Seth

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