Thursday, April 30
Not Measuring Up
Galatians 5:1-6
1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
2
Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.
3
Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.
4
You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
5
For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope.
6
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Christ is Risen! And you’ve been set free! BUT…
That’s a dangerous conjunction, isn’t it? In a sentence “but” acknowledges a past statement to be true and adds a caveat.
Maybe this sounds familiar, “You’re great, BUT…(fill in the blank).”
In the verse above Paul is writing to the church in Galatia. The people of the church were still trying to figure out what being a follower of Jesus looked like. Do they need to turn back to the Jewish customs? Do they need to rigidly and carefully follow each letter of the Law? Do they need to earn this freedom that Jesus promised? Christ is Risen! And we’ve been set free!...but, surely we needed to do something! Right?
Have you felt like you’re not enough? Like you’re not living up to expectations?
Do you ever feel like you need to earn the love of friends? Family? God?
Paul reminds the Galatians in v6. “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Instead of being bound to a list of “have-tos” he truly sets us free to just have faith in Him. This faith gives us the freedom to look at Jesus’ call to love people as an invitation and not another requirement. “It's for freedom you’ve been set free.”
Christ is Risen! And you’ve been set free! NO BUTS! So, who do you get to love today?
