THE STORY OF JESUS: Galatians 5:6-12
“The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” (Galatians 5:6)
Paul is dealing with the specific issue of circumcision, a part of Jewish religion.
But in general he is fighting the spirit of religion, doing certain things to appease God.
Paul’s message of good news has been that Jesus has show us God’s mercy already.
God’s anger with sin is settled (He still hates it), He’s found a better way to deal with it.
Jesus takes care of our failure by succeeding in good living FOR us.
God accepts this on our behalf; by trusting Jesus, God welcomes us as His holy children.
You don’t have to earn it, deserve it, or perform for it – just accept it by faith.
But when then, can we live however we want?
Of course not; this faith frees us from fear of punishment, so me are free to love as best we can.
Just focus on loving people, and do things that express that love.
The concern about being perfect or good enough for God is irrelevant, not an issue with God.
He’ll take care of the ‘not good enough’ issue; we just need to do the best we can, with His help.
With Jesus, our flawed best is good enough for God, and our deficiencies are forgiven.
“The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” (Galatians 5:6)
This bears repeating, THE ONLY THING THAT COUNTS!!!
ALL that God expects of me is to trust Him, and do my best at loving others.
Look around me, is there anyone that I can love, and bless, and encourage, and help?
The Spirit of Jesus within me is prompting me to do it, and to trust Him for the results.
It’s that simple: bless someone today through kindness, goodness, patience, generosity.
And trust Jesus to make something good out of it.
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
Lord, we have made faith so complicated, we’ve turned it into a complex religious system. I want to be free from Christianity, so I can be free to love and bless others with You.