For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
(Galatians 5.1
NRSV)
Back in the 1960s, there was a serial mystery thriller on television that ended each episode with the hero caught in some terrifying predicament. People talked all week long about how he would get out of this scrape. And then they'd tune in faithfully the next week just to find out. Even the producers of the program sat on edge. That's because the writer didn't prepare his scripts in advance. When one episode was finished, he still had to write the next one. And then, one
week, he really outdid himself. He wrote a scenario in which the hero was caught in a totally impossible situation! There was no way that he could break free! And on the set they shook their heads. Now what's he going to do? Then came the next script. And there, at the top, was a single line. It said, "With one uncontrollable bound, our hero was free." It made no sense. But that really
wasn't the point, was it? Nobody really wanted freedom, or resolution, or peace to come for the man. That isn't why they watched! It was the thirst for freedom that was important. The craving. The longing. The hoping. The scheming. The new plans and counter-plans each week. Freedom is a thirst. And the quest of freedom itself is a driving force in our lives.
That's what Paul was facing with the Galatian Christians. They had thirsted for freedom, for life, for love, for acceptance, for something that really mattered. And in Paul's preaching they had found it. In the love of Jesus Christ it became real for them. But still, somehow, the craving went on. Freedom is never something that you can hold in your hand. It's ongoing, ever-developing.
And that's why the thirst in their souls continued.
Lord Jesus, may I continue to thirst for you. In Jesus name, Amen.
Ron Newhouse
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