Freedom is certainly a relevant word in our time. It evokes images of armed soldiers fighting with valour and a flag. Or perhaps of people marching to the town square holding signs. Deep down, the word ignites a hunger for unhindered independence. We long to be free.

That thirst for independence can also be a longing to do as we wish; freedom from restrictions, which is a deep-seated desire for self-rule, is something most of us carry. So, what freedom is Paul referring to here in Galatians 5:1, and, why does he exhort to stand firm and not submit to a yoke of slavery?

FREEDOM EVEN INSIDE A CAGE

I once heard Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias tell the story of an inmate he met while visiting Angola Prison in Louisiana. He asked the man who’d been sentenced to life without parole a question, “What did it mean to him, to be there?” The man replied to Ravi that for the first time in his life, he was free.

The infamous state penitentiary known for housing hard criminals was the dwelling of this man whose crimes were…