Slave or Free

Galatians

4:23

 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise.

5:4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.

8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you.

13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

There are two camps in my heart; one who wants to try and fulfill God's requirements of holiness through human effort and one who will take a promise He made to save me.  

Everyday I must come to Him and remember that I am free, or I will live like a slave.  Any attempt to justify myself by the law will separate me from Christ and cause a plummet from Grace. 

Why would I ever want to leave grace?  It is the enjoyment of relationship, the enjoyment of peace, where I can be at rest.  If I am tempted to leave the warm blanket of grace, the voice calling me to live by my own standards is the not voice of God.  This persuasions is not from him who calls you.  For we must be persuaded because grace is the state all want to be in.  Then why is it so easy to go away from unconditional acceptance?  

Because in me lives a free man in a slaves body.  My natures war and I want to listen to the voice that draws me to something I can never attain on my own.  Like a poison it makes it's way inside...

The Holy Spirit calms the voices and through His word allows me to see that I am called to freedom.  Despite all the other noise I am free.  I am free, a slave no longer to the shackles of regulation.  My bonds have been stripped away by the sacrifice of another and have dissolved into joy.  

So I stand determined not to give the flesh an opportunity any longer but to continue to walk in freedom, seizing the chance to love.  To share the grace with others, not because I have to, but because I want to.  To remember the love shown to me makes it spill out to others like me who don't deserve it.  Freedom is a heady wine...drink up!