Do you really want to be free?

by Tim Klein

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If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations …? (Colossians 2:20)

Read Colossians 2:11–20a

And we’re still on about life, death and freedom this week – day five!

I recently received one of those government health letters inviting me to do the ‘poo test’ – you know the one (at least you probably do if you’re over 50). Here’s a regulatory letter. Will I submit?

I self-administered the test, and bang, less than a week later, I was told that I needed a colonoscopy. Thankfully, there was no indication of any cancerous growth, only several small polyps removed on the spot. Thank you, Lord.

Along the way, I had blood tests. My surgeon identified some anomalies. Long story short, within a very short space of time, I was diagnosed as coeliac.

Now, it seems I must die to my love of bread products – anything containing gluten. The rules and regulations of coeliac disease are very clear: no more pizza, cakes, sourdough breads or cream buns.

I’m thinking about this in the light of Colossians 2:20. I’m faced with a choice: obey the coeliac regulations and give up gluten, or continue as though the disease does not affect me. It’s a kind of ‘to sin or not to sin’. I’m well aware of the consequences either way.

In a way, knowing I have this disease frees me up to make choices that, in the long term, are better for me than if I hadn’t known.

That has some connection with Colossians 2:20 – and even Romans 7:15: I do not understand what I do. What I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate, I do. I now know gluten is very bad for me, but I still want creamy honey doughnuts.

Of course, this word in Colossians is not about gluten; it’s about temptation, submission to the law and freedom. I must ask myself: Do I really want to be free? Do I truly desire to love life and see good days? We will take up that question tomorrow …

Lord, we hear you say in Galatians 5:1, ‘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.’ Prompt us with your Holy Spirit to stand firm in the freedom you have won for us. Amen.

Tim is a recently retired LCANZ pastor. He enjoys spending time with family, connecting with neighbours and gardening.

Free?

by Tim Klein

Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.

So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian (Galatians 3:24,25).

Read Galatians 3:23–25

Through this week, we’ve been talking about winning and losing: about eternal life and where that sits in our relationship with Jesus. Today’s reading from Galatians connects this with the law and faith.

In everyday life, we learn that if we do the right thing according to the law, we live; if we do wrong, we die. We know and experience the law as a boundary to the way we live.

But now in these verses, as in much of Paul’s writing, we are pointed to a new freedom. We are no longer bound by the law. It’s not that the law has nothing to say to us; rather, we now live with a new freedom.

If we still lived under the law, we would remain bound to death – there’s no other way because none of us can perfectly fulfil the law. We sin, and the message from Romans 6:23 is that sin pays out in death (the wages of sin).

In these verses, the law is described as a guardian – something that surrounds and guides us in life. As human beings, we feel constrained by the law of what we can and cannot do. It’s not like a concrete wall – more like an electric fence. If we touch it, we get a shock and back off. We can push through the fence and go our own way, but the damage is done. Our freedom is limited.

But here in these verses, we learn about a new guardian, not a fence, but faith. Now our lives are guided by faith. Even if we barge through the electric fence, faith invites us to turn back to Jesus for mercy, healing and comfort.

This gives us a new freedom that is guaranteed by and found in Jesus.

Thank you, dear Lord, for the gift of faith and the freedom we find in this gift. Keep our lives safe and surrounded by your love and mercy. Keep us turning to you when we find ourselves trapped and burdened by sin. Thank you for the freedom that only you can give. Amen.

Tim is a recently retired LCANZ pastor. He enjoys spending time with family, connecting with neighbours and gardening.

A great reversal

by Tim Klein

Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.

Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life (John 12:25).

Read John 12:20–28

And here it is again, a very similar text to those of the previous two days. Today, I want to speak about a great reversal – something we human beings find hard to appreciate. We don’t like to talk about losing our lives or giving things up for the sake of the kingdom. We would rather have it all.

If we could rewrite John 12:25, this is more like how we would write it: ‘Whoever loves their life wins it, and whoever loves their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.’

It’s quite a sobering thought to be reminded of how Jesus interprets the worth of our efforts in life. I consider some of those great blessings in my life – my family, my home, my guitar, my friendships, my achievements, my accumulated superannuation funds, those awards and certificates and so on – and wonder whether they contribute in some way to my eternal welfare. Surely they make a difference.

But Jesus reverses my expectations and values, making it clear that my eternal life does not depend on my own efforts. In a strange way, that’s comforting because the opposite is also worth considering: What about my failures, the mistakes I’ve made, the sins that dog my days? What do I really deserve? Certainly not life!

And here, once again, we encounter the gospel. Jesus puts aside his life. In the face of my sin, the dearly loved son of God, loved by his friends and those whom he served, lays down his life and loses it in an act of love for you, me and the world. In mercy, he dies our death and replaces it with eternal life.

So, what remains for you and me? Here, Jesus invites us to see our lives in his eternal perspective. We recognise that our lives, that all we gain and achieve in the final analysis, humanly speaking, finally amount to nothing. Instead, our sin and brokenness attract the mercy and love of Jesus such that he exchanges his life for yours and mine so that we can live with him forever.

‘Lord Jesus Christ, at the foot of your cross, I kneel today. In your wounds, I place my wounds. In your silence, I find my peace. In your sacrifice, I find my worth. Help me to never forget the love you poured out for me. Amen’ (Catholic Daily Prayer).

Tim is a recently retired LCANZ pastor. He enjoys spending time with family, connecting with neighbours and gardening.