“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Galatian 5:13-14
Anyone who has been involved in a church for long knows that there is always a struggle going on somewhere, where people exist (even in Church!), there will always be disputes. That has been the case since the days of Paul’s Ministry. In this letter to the church at Galatia, Paul addressed a problem that existed between two groups within the church.
Some returned to legalism and the “works” theology that was most familiar and most comfortable for them. Others distorted grace and adopted the attitude that they were free from any moral or civil obligation. To reconcile the differences, Paul sought to bring focus into proper perspective. He encouraged those who regressed to legalism to accept the gift of grace and urged those who used their freedom as moral licence to understand that freedom demands responsibility.
In Galatians 5:13, Paul declared that believers are called to freedom and are no longer handcuffed to the standard of acceptance that every other religion in the world had been founded upon, salvation by works. Because of Jesus’ death at Calvary, Paul made it clear that we have been set free from condemnation and that our sins are forgiven. However, he exhorted the Galatians not to use their freedom as permission to do as they pleased. Rather he wrote that the freedom should express itself in the form of service. Two words could have been used for serve. The one used is in reference to service done by a slave and usually refers to the duties of a slave, that is, to fulfill an obligation required by position, not by volunteering. Christians have an obligation to one another that goes beyond volunteering. It is more binding than that. Paul concluded the passage by admonishing the church that there is only ONE way to fulfill the law and that is through love, specifically, through loving one’s neighbour as oneself.
Therefore, we are to express your freedom through service and to fulfill the law by loving your neighbour. To Serve is To Love. Or put it another way, if we love, service will be the logical and natural outcome. Service for any other reason is another form of legalism by which you strive for approval or acceptance.
As believers, we are called to express our freedom through loving service. Jesus said it this way: “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another”. When service is not others oriented, it becomes self-oriented, and the result is obvious. Suddenly, everything becomes mine, and territorialism creeps in. Things like “This is MY group, MY Bible study, MY church,” indicates something far different from others-oriented thinking. When that happens, we can be sure that service is motivated not by a desire to love people through serving them but by a desire to meet one’s own needs for attention, fulfillment, or release from the guilt of the past.
On the other hand, when we love someone, it’s natural to want to do things for that person. A quick look at an engaged couple is one example of how love motivates. The young bride-to-be just can’t do enough for the young man she is about to marry. It’s not because she has to or because she needs his attention; she loves him and wants to serve him! Jesus is our best example of love and service. He is always meeting the needs if those He came in contact with. He didn’t have to. He did so, because of his great love for mankind. He went so far as to die for us! That kind of love is what we’ve set free to express, not because we have to, but because we want to.
Home is the best place to begin to serve. If you are not sure how to love your family, try serving them. Let us ask God to open our heart to the connection between love and service, it will become clear that service and love is connected by a single thread! If we ask God to open our heart to a place for service, He will!
Opportunities for service abounds and we will be surprise that when we seek for God’s direction, a place for suitable service will emerge where we can express our love through service.
Do make it a part of our daily quiet time to thank God for people who have served us as an expression of their love and seek Jesus’ heart as we pray to adopt His service lifestyle. As we strive to be conformed to His image, as God to give you a heart for loving service. There is no better fuel for service that burns longer and provides more energy than LOVE!
In His Service,
Tjowster Out~!
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“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Galatian 5:13-14
Anyone who has been involved in a church for long knows that there is always a struggle going on somewhere, where people exist (even in Church!), there will always be disputes. That has been the case since the days of Paul’s Ministry. In this letter to the church at Galatia, Paul addressed a problem that existed between two groups within the church.
Some returned to legalism and the “works” theology that was most familiar and most comfortable for them. Others distorted grace and adopted the attitude that they were free from any moral or civil obligation. To reconcile the differences, Paul sought to bring focus into proper perspective. He encouraged those who regressed to legalism to accept the gift of grace and urged those who used their freedom as moral licence to understand that freedom demands responsibility.
In Galatians 5:13, Paul declared that believers are called to freedom and are no longer handcuffed to the standard of acceptance that every other religion in the world had been founded upon, salvation by works. Because of Jesus’ death at Calvary, Paul made it clear that we have been set free from condemnation and that our sins are forgiven. However, he exhorted the Galatians not to use their freedom as permission to do as they pleased. Rather he wrote that the freedom should express itself in the form of service. Two words could have been used for serve. The one used is in reference to service done by a slave and usually refers to the duties of a slave, that is, to fulfill an obligation required by position, not by volunteering. Christians have an obligation to one another that goes beyond volunteering. It is more binding than that. Paul concluded the passage by admonishing the church that there is only ONE way to fulfill the law and that is through love, specifically, through loving one’s neighbour as oneself.
Therefore, we are to express your freedom through service and to fulfill the law by loving your neighbour. To Serve is To Love. Or put it another way, if we love, service will be the logical and natural outcome. Service for any other reason is another form of legalism by which you strive for approval or acceptance.
As believers, we are called to express our freedom through loving service. Jesus said it this way: “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another”. When service is not others oriented, it becomes self-oriented, and the result is obvious. Suddenly, everything becomes mine, and territorialism creeps in. Things like “This is MY group, MY Bible study, MY church,” indicates something far different from others-oriented thinking. When that happens, we can be sure that service is motivated not by a desire to love people through serving them but by a desire to meet one’s own needs for attention, fulfillment, or release from the guilt of the past.
On the other hand, when we love someone, it’s natural to want to do things for that person. A quick look at an engaged couple is one example of how love motivates. The young bride-to-be just can’t do enough for the young man she is about to marry. It’s not because she has to or because she needs his attention; she loves him and wants to serve him! Jesus is our best example of love and service. He is always meeting the needs if those He came in contact with. He didn’t have to. He did so, because of his great love for mankind. He went so far as to die for us! That kind of love is what we’ve set free to express, not because we have to, but because we want to.
Home is the best place to begin to serve. If you are not sure how to love your family, try serving them. Let us ask God to open our heart to the connection between love and service, it will become clear that service and love is connected by a single thread! If we ask God to open our heart to a place for service, He will!
Opportunities for service abounds and we will be surprise that when we seek for God’s direction, a place for suitable service will emerge where we can express our love through service.
Do make it a part of our daily quiet time to thank God for people who have served us as an expression of their love and seek Jesus’ heart as we pray to adopt His service lifestyle. As we strive to be conformed to His image, as God to give you a heart for loving service. There is no better fuel for service that burns longer and provides more energy than LOVE!
In His Service,
Tjowster Out~!
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Name : Matthew Tjow
Age : 31 (as of 1st Jan 2009)
B-day : 1st April 1978
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