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Traveling Light: Galatians and the Free Life in Christ
We aspire to freedom but often resign ourselves to an existence trapped in uneasiness and dread. Is there any way to shed such heaviness and reignite hope for deliverance? In Traveling Light , Eugene H. Peterson urges us to listen to an expert on freedom, Paul, whose letter to the Galatians reminds us of the realities of life in Christ, freely given to all. Peterson says, "If there is a story of freedom to be told, the story must begin with God. . . . The Bible is not a script for a funeral service, but the record of the proclaimed and witnessed God bringing new life to the dead. Everywhere it is a story of resurrection―life where we expect death." That lightness of spirit we're shown in Scripture is a gift and challenge. With an open path forward, Peterson calls us to embrace change, exploration, trust, love, and much more. Now with a new study guide, share the work of pursuing real rescue and relief through the abiding wisdom of Peterson.
216 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1982
41 people are currently reading
390 people want to read
About the author
Eugene H. Peterson
432 books1,006 followersEugene H. Peterson was a pastor, scholar, author, and poet. For many years he was James M. Houston Professor of Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He also served as founding pastor of Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland. He had written over thirty books, including Gold Medallion Book Award winner The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language a contemporary translation of the Bible. After retiring from full-time teaching, Eugene and his wife Jan lived in the Big Sky Country of rural Montana. He died in October 2018.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
September 6, 2017
Eugene Peterson once wrote that in a slow, frustrating season at his church, he took the Bible study group through a slow examination of Paul's letter to the Galatians. Peterson commented that study helped bring his congregation into something of a new season of faith (it would also lay the groundwork for what would eventually become 'The Message'). This book is the published version of what started in those Bible study sessions.
I think many times when Christians talk about freedom, we do so in the sense of how God has set us free from our sin; we understand freedom as being free "from" something. While certainly true, this particular framework doesn't really appreciate the multi-dimensional depths of the freedom we have in Christ. Throughout the book, Peterson contemplates how every train of Paul's Galatian thought process is coupled by the freedom Christ brings. Through this gradual unpacking, the concept of freedom gets a well needed and quite refreshing exploration.
While you should discover and experience the content for yourself, there are two thoughts I think encompass the overall themes here. First, freedom is God's doing. It is procured in Christ's crucifixion and provided in Christ's resurrection. Freedom is the gift received through the faithful abiding in both Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. It's a liberating thought because it means the reality of freedom is not determined by us or what we do. The reality of freedom is the sovereign work of God in which we simply abide. Second, freedom is a discipline. Learning to live in the freedom God provides is both passive and active. Passive because we're allowing ourselves to first be acted upon by the work God has done in Christ. Active because that work invites response; not a forced response as if we were still slaves being driven to obey, but a response that is fully aware of the liberation Christ has brought and freely desires to live in the worth of his work.
Speaking for myself and my own church experiences, it's strange how frequently Christians don't feel free. Freedom in Christ is, in one sense, a kind of servitude, but that sense has too often tilted over into a full on sense of slavery, which is likely informed by factors that are more than just Scriptural. Just as Paul's letter attempted to remind the Galatians of the freedom they already had in Christ, Peterson's book also calls us away from the slaveries that both worldly and religious cultures may inadvertently or intentionally burden us with and into the freedom Christ has already sufficiently provided to live and dance in.
I think many times when Christians talk about freedom, we do so in the sense of how God has set us free from our sin; we understand freedom as being free "from" something. While certainly true, this particular framework doesn't really appreciate the multi-dimensional depths of the freedom we have in Christ. Throughout the book, Peterson contemplates how every train of Paul's Galatian thought process is coupled by the freedom Christ brings. Through this gradual unpacking, the concept of freedom gets a well needed and quite refreshing exploration.
While you should discover and experience the content for yourself, there are two thoughts I think encompass the overall themes here. First, freedom is God's doing. It is procured in Christ's crucifixion and provided in Christ's resurrection. Freedom is the gift received through the faithful abiding in both Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. It's a liberating thought because it means the reality of freedom is not determined by us or what we do. The reality of freedom is the sovereign work of God in which we simply abide. Second, freedom is a discipline. Learning to live in the freedom God provides is both passive and active. Passive because we're allowing ourselves to first be acted upon by the work God has done in Christ. Active because that work invites response; not a forced response as if we were still slaves being driven to obey, but a response that is fully aware of the liberation Christ has brought and freely desires to live in the worth of his work.
Speaking for myself and my own church experiences, it's strange how frequently Christians don't feel free. Freedom in Christ is, in one sense, a kind of servitude, but that sense has too often tilted over into a full on sense of slavery, which is likely informed by factors that are more than just Scriptural. Just as Paul's letter attempted to remind the Galatians of the freedom they already had in Christ, Peterson's book also calls us away from the slaveries that both worldly and religious cultures may inadvertently or intentionally burden us with and into the freedom Christ has already sufficiently provided to live and dance in.
July 13, 2020
It feels odd to give four stars to a book by one of the greatest writers of the last 100 years just a month or so after giving a book by Jessica Simpson five stars. But Peterson has set such a high standard with his writing that this book falls short of. This is my least favorite of his many books.
I still got a lot out of it though. His book-long explanation of freedom in Christ in Galatians is meandering, but he eventually lands at an excellent place -
Our society is split between ... two approaches. There are people who are seriously trying to live out moral ideals and responsibilities and enlisting others in their program (the circumcised). And there are people who are convinced that their first priority is to treat themselves to a good time (the uncircumcised). They both argue for freedom. Culture is a contest between the two.
Paul refused these alternatives. While in some ways they are opposites, in one significant way they are the same: they both refuse to deal with death. They are not free to die. They are both desperate to hold onto life. The uncircumcised are desperate to snatch some happiness out of fleeting days; the circumcised, desperate to preserve meaning in the chaos of a corrupt society. They are desperate because they exclude God. They are not free to die because their own life is all they know and all they believe in. The one is anxiously and compulsively moral, the other frantically and obsessively happy. An uptight morality. A humorless happiness. Neither is free.
The above paragraphs are a perfect illustration of what Paul is teaching in Galatians, but I’m not sure I needed the previous 200 pages.
But, there are a lot of good parts spread out in here. Peterson on his worst day is still better than almost anyone else on their best.
I still got a lot out of it though. His book-long explanation of freedom in Christ in Galatians is meandering, but he eventually lands at an excellent place -
Our society is split between ... two approaches. There are people who are seriously trying to live out moral ideals and responsibilities and enlisting others in their program (the circumcised). And there are people who are convinced that their first priority is to treat themselves to a good time (the uncircumcised). They both argue for freedom. Culture is a contest between the two.
Paul refused these alternatives. While in some ways they are opposites, in one significant way they are the same: they both refuse to deal with death. They are not free to die. They are both desperate to hold onto life. The uncircumcised are desperate to snatch some happiness out of fleeting days; the circumcised, desperate to preserve meaning in the chaos of a corrupt society. They are desperate because they exclude God. They are not free to die because their own life is all they know and all they believe in. The one is anxiously and compulsively moral, the other frantically and obsessively happy. An uptight morality. A humorless happiness. Neither is free.
The above paragraphs are a perfect illustration of what Paul is teaching in Galatians, but I’m not sure I needed the previous 200 pages.
But, there are a lot of good parts spread out in here. Peterson on his worst day is still better than almost anyone else on their best.
February 7, 2017
Peterson has some interesting insights in this book. It is particularly the chapter Free to Give that is well worth reading where he links freedom together with the act of loving the other in a strong and convincing fashion. A further good point is how Peterson shows that Christian life and love is not without suffering. Rather, it can be the very opposite. But here Peterson gives an interesting meaning to what resurrection is - as God's act when human abilities have run out.
Having said that, there is much here that I didn't find particularly revealing. And in the end I am not quite sure that I have any clearer view what freedom is. Freedom kind of becomes so many things by Peterson that it is difficult to keep track of it, and at times some of his points seem to contradict each other.
Finally, the book is a comment on the letter to the Galatians, and I am not so convinced that it is terribly close to the text. Peterson admits that it is more reflection in sermon style, but they are a little too free at times.
Having said that, there is much here that I didn't find particularly revealing. And in the end I am not quite sure that I have any clearer view what freedom is. Freedom kind of becomes so many things by Peterson that it is difficult to keep track of it, and at times some of his points seem to contradict each other.
Finally, the book is a comment on the letter to the Galatians, and I am not so convinced that it is terribly close to the text. Peterson admits that it is more reflection in sermon style, but they are a little too free at times.
May 30, 2022
This book is an in-depth study of the concept of freedom as spelled out in Epistle to Galatians.
While the book was written in 1988, its truths are extremely applicable to the realities of 2022. Christ gives us freedom that surpasses the cultural and political definitions of the word, which are all the rage of the discussions of today.
It is freedom from sin, which launches us into freedom to live the life that we are given by God, to co-create with God, to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this world, to walk with the vision of the eternity.
It is difficult to overestimate the importance of understanding the true freedom.
While the book was written in 1988, its truths are extremely applicable to the realities of 2022. Christ gives us freedom that surpasses the cultural and political definitions of the word, which are all the rage of the discussions of today.
It is freedom from sin, which launches us into freedom to live the life that we are given by God, to co-create with God, to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this world, to walk with the vision of the eternity.
It is difficult to overestimate the importance of understanding the true freedom.
October 10, 2023
Eugene Petterson is a gift. What a blessing! It's a must! 8
January 29, 2014
I think this was the book that started The Message Translation as Pastor Peterson studied Galatians with his congregation a couple decades ago. I found it very refreshing and really liked the title. Freedom really does enable us to travel through this life without bearing a heavy burden! I think anyone who struggles with legalism will benefit from this book, and anyone who uses their liberty as a cloak for vice will likewise greatly benefit! I find myself in both camps at various times and I definitely benefited from reading these modern meditations on Paul's letter of freedom!
June 29, 2016
I've needed to read this book my whole life.
November 2, 2021
Eugene Peterson's writing it has just struck me is remarkably similar in style to Paul of Tarsus. The way he uses examples, his obvious passion, his use of binary contrasts, his blunt characterizations of contemporary society, his use of metaphor & the available language, his wise repetition. It's a funny thing in that as Peterson describes Paul's free life in Christ, it's as if Paul is describing the very free life that Peterson lived and indeed continues to live in his resurrection.
This small unassuming paperback to me demands very careful digestion and slow savouring. The kind of things that he is describing are far from the sorts of information one regularly consumes through broadcast television, Google searches, Wikipedia and social-media. The book is a kind of anti-internet. I would give my last cent to spend a just a bit of time in the interior world of this blessed man.
I cannot recommend this book too highly
This small unassuming paperback to me demands very careful digestion and slow savouring. The kind of things that he is describing are far from the sorts of information one regularly consumes through broadcast television, Google searches, Wikipedia and social-media. The book is a kind of anti-internet. I would give my last cent to spend a just a bit of time in the interior world of this blessed man.
I cannot recommend this book too highly
September 3, 2024
This is one of my favourite Peterson books. It's his perspectives on Paul's epistle to the Galatian church. The 6 chapters of the epistle are addressed by Peterson in 15 shortish chapters, each one starting with "Free to ..."
As Peterson outlines Paul's key message to the Galatians is that walking with Jesus is the way to freedom, hence, the chapter titles. I found each chapter stimulating and I appreciated how Peterson summarised his message in a few key points and then proceeded to outline in a bit more detail his insights behind each point.
This revised edition comes with a provocative short foreword from Karen Swallow Prior and a study guide at the back. I didn't use the study guide but may when I read it again at a future time.
Definitely recommend this if you seek to better understand the free life of walking with Jesus.
As Peterson outlines Paul's key message to the Galatians is that walking with Jesus is the way to freedom, hence, the chapter titles. I found each chapter stimulating and I appreciated how Peterson summarised his message in a few key points and then proceeded to outline in a bit more detail his insights behind each point.
This revised edition comes with a provocative short foreword from Karen Swallow Prior and a study guide at the back. I didn't use the study guide but may when I read it again at a future time.
Definitely recommend this if you seek to better understand the free life of walking with Jesus.
October 7, 2017
Another excellent book by one of my favorite Christian writers. This book was especially meaningful since I got to discuss it weekly with like-minded women. We have freedom to resist (in a nation of addicts and complainers) and fail. But we also have wonderful freedoms to change, explore, think, receive, trust, stand, love, create, and give. Some of my favorite thoughts were that there is plenitude in God. We can 'walk gaily.' He will train us in mature ways of living. "A life determined by compulsions results in chaos, while a life of freedom falls naturally and easily into designs of beauty."
He quotes G. K Chesterton who ridiculed the women's liberation movement in England by saying,"Ten thousand women said, 'I won't be dictated to -- and went out and became stenographers.'"
He quotes G. K Chesterton who ridiculed the women's liberation movement in England by saying,"Ten thousand women said, 'I won't be dictated to -- and went out and became stenographers.'"
December 20, 2021
Peterson does an excellent job of showing how the situation in Galatia is very similar to how culture today is promising freedom, either through moralism or through self-expression. But, of course, only living according to the way our Creator ordered the world will truly result in freedom and the bearing of fruit that leads to flourishing.
“Living in the land of the free has not made us free; we are a nation of addicts and complainers.”
“When I set God at the center of my life, I realize vast freedoms and surprising spontaneities. When I center life in my own will, my freedom diminishes markedly. I live constricted and anxious.”
“Living in the land of the free has not made us free; we are a nation of addicts and complainers.”
“When I set God at the center of my life, I realize vast freedoms and surprising spontaneities. When I center life in my own will, my freedom diminishes markedly. I live constricted and anxious.”
November 20, 2022
“God is not controlled by our evil or our goodness, by our doubt or our faith, our ignorance or our knowledge. God is not an object we can get possession of. God is not a truth that we can master and then use to bludgeon a stubborn agnostic friend into belief. God is not goodness that we can securely possess in a strong box. God is free. Through Christ’s resurrection he is freely among us so that we live freely, free for all.”
— Eugene H. Peterson in “Traveling Light: Modern Meditations on St. Paul’s Letter of Freedom”
— Eugene H. Peterson in “Traveling Light: Modern Meditations on St. Paul’s Letter of Freedom”
November 3, 2023
A fabulous and accessible commentary on Galatians, but as a book, not my favorite Peterson.
Peterson blasts through the text providing running incites that are helpful and memorable when it comes to understanding Galatians quickly, but as a book there is not enough of that unique Peterson voice I am looking for when I read him.
I would recommend this to anyone working through Galatians, or anyone who has ever felt burdened by version of Christianity or religion generally that added hoops to jump through or chains to carry.
Peterson blasts through the text providing running incites that are helpful and memorable when it comes to understanding Galatians quickly, but as a book there is not enough of that unique Peterson voice I am looking for when I read him.
I would recommend this to anyone working through Galatians, or anyone who has ever felt burdened by version of Christianity or religion generally that added hoops to jump through or chains to carry.
June 10, 2022
3.5. Peterson is one of my favorite writers ever. He is pastoral, prophetic, and poetic. This is the weakest book I’ve read from him. Some very helpful and beautiful moments here as he describes the free life as portrayed by Paul, but most of it didn’t strike me like his writing usually does. The final two chapters (free to give and free to die) are marvelous, though. Highly recommend those final chapters.
April 30, 2024
Read along w Tim Keller’s Bible study on Galatians. Provided nice enriching parallels for working thru each chapter. And especially loved Peterson’s thoughts on the Fruit of the Spirit - how Paul used a very ordered three by three set of descriptors for the characteristics of the Fruit. And when Paul described the works of the flesh they were random and disordered and chaotic.
Peterson is more poetic than Keller!
Peterson is more poetic than Keller!
December 13, 2024
This isn't my favorite book by Eugene Peterson. However, this book still consists of good takeaways with its short reflections on the free life based upon the Book of Galatians. Peterson's short reflections are good and fed my soul as part of my daily devotional reading. Traveling Light:Reflections on the Free Life complements the Book of Galatians from the Bible. I recommend reading this book a long the Book of Galatians in the New Testament. This book makes for a good companion guide.
July 1, 2019
I love Eugene Peterson. I love his passion for the truth of the Gospel, and as always, that passion sings through these pages. I struggled through this one a little bit, so it’s not necessarily my favorite, but I still gleaned so much. I will definitely return to it in future seasons for refreshment.
February 8, 2021
I read this book because I have enjoyed other Eugene Peterson books. This one uses the book of Galatians as an on ramp for discussing the theme of freedom. Some chapters I found inspiring and others left me dry. Peterson is a master at wordsmithing and just for the beauty of this type of artwork it is worth the read.
July 10, 2022
Reflections on the Free Life is another brilliant, witty and perceptive work by the recently deceased author of the Message paraphrase. He challenges believers to live out the free life that God offers through Jesus Christ. A very good book that challenges believers to die to self and take up the Resurrection life that was offered us by the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus
August 1, 2024
Eugene Peterson’s writings always contain nuggets of wisdom. This book on Galatians explores the concept of what it means to be free in Christ, and each chapter explores a topic as he goes through Galatians. It includes being free to live, resist, explore, love, create and others. While at times he was a bit more philosophical in his stunting, there are insights to be gained.
January 4, 2025
This group of essays by Eugene Peterson on Galatians is something to meditate on over an over again. The book is worth reading if only for the last essay, "Free to Die," which is amazing. I will be rereading.
March 6, 2025
Most excellent handling of Galatians. As we fight those who hold out the "rule book" of Christian living, we rediscover how Christ has set us free. And in living free, we have the ability to be fully living in Jesus.
July 15, 2025
Wow. A lot to chew on... In the western world, there is a lot of talk about freedom these days. I think everyone would do well to read about what true freedom looks like from the perspective of the Lord (the true reality of the world!), which I think Peterson captures quite well in this book.
August 30, 2020
This book really shines at the end, in the commentary on Galatians 5 and 6. I couldn’t wrap my head around where he was going with chapters 3 and 4 but I’m glad I persevered!
December 20, 2023
3.5 stars
May 4, 2025
3.65 overall rating
October 14, 2025
Devotional commentary by Eugene Peterson.
September 27, 2023
Eugene Peterson opens Paul’s very first epistle and follows Paul’s freedom trail on the journey away from guilt and dread and toward hope for deliverance. Traveling Light is a work of practical theology in which Peterson exercises his unique gift for proving that every single word of the Bible is liveable.
He begins by reminding us how unfree 21st-century believers tend to become in our “huddled, worried, defensive lives.” Paul’s writing makes it clear that we are free only to the extent that we acknowledge our connection to the gospel as “made, raised, and rescued” people.
Written in 1982 and re-released this year with questions for reflection and discussion, Peterson was speaking into a time of political division and cultural change—and, obviously, the church is still in need of his clear-eyed discrimination for cobbling together a way of life that is both compelling to observers and sustainable for believers. Because he was widely read, Peterson drew on wisdom from rich and varied sources in making his point, and wise readers will mine the footnotes for further encouragement in the free life.
Because we live and work according to our concept of God, our theology is foundational to our freedom. We might prefer a neat formula to follow, but Paul’s life was anything but formulaic. His story of a great reversal followed by relentless overflow into the lives of people frees us today to lean into whatever narrative God has cast us for, to resist the small-minded, short-sighted critics with their rule books, and to commit ourselves to following the living Christ “into the country of freedom.”
Many thanks to InterVarsity Press for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.
He begins by reminding us how unfree 21st-century believers tend to become in our “huddled, worried, defensive lives.” Paul’s writing makes it clear that we are free only to the extent that we acknowledge our connection to the gospel as “made, raised, and rescued” people.
Written in 1982 and re-released this year with questions for reflection and discussion, Peterson was speaking into a time of political division and cultural change—and, obviously, the church is still in need of his clear-eyed discrimination for cobbling together a way of life that is both compelling to observers and sustainable for believers. Because he was widely read, Peterson drew on wisdom from rich and varied sources in making his point, and wise readers will mine the footnotes for further encouragement in the free life.
Because we live and work according to our concept of God, our theology is foundational to our freedom. We might prefer a neat formula to follow, but Paul’s life was anything but formulaic. His story of a great reversal followed by relentless overflow into the lives of people frees us today to lean into whatever narrative God has cast us for, to resist the small-minded, short-sighted critics with their rule books, and to commit ourselves to following the living Christ “into the country of freedom.”
Many thanks to InterVarsity Press for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.
August 21, 2021
Nice essays on Galatians. “Freedom comes from trusting, not from manipulating, from leaving matters to God rather than trying to be the one in control.”
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews