Free to Love

Date: Saturday, October 17, 2026

Galatians is a powerful testimony. We're only covering the last two chapters where it all comes together, so take a look at the Bible Project's Overview of Galatians to understand the context as we dive into the best parts.

Readings: Galatians 5 | Psalm 91

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1). Paul writes this to churches being pressured to add rules, especially circumcision (remnants of the ineffective Law), onto the finished work of Jesus. Jesus is not anti-obedience. He is anti-anxiety. Freedom, in Paul’s mind, is not permission to do whatever we feel like, since that’s just another kind of slavery. Instead, “the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (5:6), and we are called to “serve one another humbly in love” (5:13).

In 1945, Brooklyn Dodgers executive Branch Rickey, a devout Methodist, sat across from a young Army veteran named Jackie Robinson and did something strange: he hurled racist insults at him, role-playing the abuse Robinson would face if he broke baseball’s color barrier. Robinson, a proud and fiery competitor, asked whether Rickey wanted a man afraid to fight back. Rickey answered that he needed someone with the guts not to. Robinson agreed to hold his temper, and when he took the field in April 1947, he endured slurs, threats, and pitches aimed at his head, all while playing brilliantly and winning Rookie of the Year. Was Robinson weak? Hardly. His restraint was the opposite of being controlled by every provocation. He was free in his response. And his response to racial slurs showed more power than any other reaction could.

This is the kind of strength Paul has in mind when he lists the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (5:22-23). Notice that it is fruit, not a to-do list. Fruit grows from abiding, not straining. The same grace that frees us from earning God’s favor now grows something beautiful within us. We don’t produce it by gritting our teeth or lashing out. We receive it by staying close to the Vine.

Devotional Prompts:

• In what area of your faith are you still living like a slave to performance, rather than a child set free?
• Which fruit of the Spirit feels most “out of season” in your life right now, and how might you stay near Christ in that space?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, you have set us free. Please keep us from sliding back into fear or striving and aggressive activism. Grow in us the quiet fruit of your Spirit, and make our freedom a servant’s freedom, spent on love. Remind us today that we are your beloved children. Amen.