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.
Galatians 5:1 NIV
God Has Set You Free
Back in 2016, a Cree woman from Alberta was set free after a years-long ordeal that saw her tried and convicted of murder, in what the court called a miscarriage of justice. But the case of Connie Oakes is far from uncommon among Indigenous people, says an advocate for the wrongly accused. “Indigenous people are not only more vulnerable to being wrongfully convicted, but also less likely to get help after they’ve been wrongfully convicted,” said Amanda Carling, who works with the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted in Toronto.
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When someone is set free from prison after serving time for something they didn’t do, emotions must be all over the map – relief, joy, release but also frustration and even anger over time wasted for no reason. One thing is for sure – a desire to do anything not to end up back in prison. With Jesus, we are all guilty of the sin for which He died. So, when He sets us free, there is nothing but unbridled joy. Galatians 5:1 says, “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.” The apostle Paul makes a good point here. Jesus has set us free from the prison, the slavery of sin. He warns us not to go back to that imprisonment by falling back into sin. By His death and resurrection, we have been forgiven, redeemed, set free. Live in that liberty by living a life of holiness and Christlikeness, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley