Focal passage: Colossians 2:16-23
When I was around four years old, I got my head stuck between the railings of the bunk bed I shared with my brother. When I realized I was stuck, I screamed. My brother screamed. My parents screamed from the other room as they rushed to figure out what was going on. I couldn’t move at all and feared I would never be free again. As tears streamed down my face, my parents slowly, but surely, helped me get free. It’s hard to describe the relief I felt. I just knew I never wanted to be stuck again.
The gospel offers us a relieving freedom. Where we once were bound to rules and regulations, we now have freedom to obey God from our hearts. Any attempt at righteousness, success, or spirituality apart from Jesus Christ is empty and void. He is the one from whom all those things proceed.
We are free from having to attempt holiness by human means. In fact, there is no such thing. We are free from the dependence on our horoscope, or the position of the planets, superstitions or what we eat or don’t eat. All these things are unreliable, temporary and void of power. They cannot deliver or transform or save. They do not deliver on what they promise.
We are free to trust in Jesus to both save and sustain us. Though we will be tempted to rely on false truths that may seem wise, we know that true wisdom comes from above. Earthly rules and regulations will not make us righteous, they will only inflate our pride. The gospel frees us from such bondage. We can look to Jesus for all truth and wisdom. He is the head of all things, and He has made us free.