Free! Free to Love

When I was preparing for this morning’s sermon, I was reminded of an assignment I was given in my high school freshman speech class – to create a commercial for Alka Seltzer heartburn relief tablets. Our concept was “The Fuller Family”, in which a family gathers around their Thanksgiving table, laden with rich foods, and feasts heartily – but is overstuffed and miserable afterwards – and then realizes there is only one Alka Seltzer tablet left in their house.Cue the theme from “Chariots of Fire”, as they race to the medicine cabinet (in slow motion) to claim the tablet for themselves.

What does the Fuller Family’s “race to relief” have to do with today’s passage? What race does Paul talk about? What does he say about the goal of that race, the fetters that keep us from that goal, and the freedom that comes from reaching it?