September 16
Galatians 2:17-3:9
Are you doing your best? Do you feel like your best is good enough? I tell my kids all the time that all I want them to do at school and in life is to do their best. I think this is decent parenting advice; the problem is that this wisdom does not work when it comes to salvation. If we think our best is going to gain us eternal life, we are clearly wrong because that is exactly what the church in Galatia was trying to do.
Paul uses very strong language to confront those in the church who thought their adherence to the law and good deeds could gain eternal life. He asks them “who has bewitched you?” He wants to know who has essentially cast a spell over them to cause them to miss the truth. He reiterates that the only means of eternal life is what Jesus has already done for us. The only path of salvation is for us to place our faith in Jesus. This is how people like Abraham were saved in the Old Testament and how we are saved today. So, embrace the fact your best is not good enough, and praise God Jesus’ best was enough to achieve what we could not. Let us rest in the work of Jesus, live a life of gratitude and praise, and live as a response to our salvation, not as a means of earning it.
Father God, thank you for what Jesus did for me. Thank you that through his perfect life, death and resurrection, salvation is available to me. Help me to live in response to what Christ has already accomplished for me. Amen.
What difference does it make in your life when you live not to earn God’s love and salvation, but as a response to what Jesus has already done for you?
Are you doing your best? Do you feel like your best is good enough? I tell my kids all the time that all I want them to do at school and in life is to do their best. I think this is decent parenting advice; the problem is that this wisdom does not work when it comes to salvation. If we think our best is going to gain us eternal life, we are clearly wrong because that is exactly what the church in Galatia was trying to do.
Paul uses very strong language to confront those in the church who thought their adherence to the law and good deeds could gain eternal life. He asks them “who has bewitched you?” He wants to know who has essentially cast a spell over them to cause them to miss the truth. He reiterates that the only means of eternal life is what Jesus has already done for us. The only path of salvation is for us to place our faith in Jesus. This is how people like Abraham were saved in the Old Testament and how we are saved today. So, embrace the fact your best is not good enough, and praise God Jesus’ best was enough to achieve what we could not. Let us rest in the work of Jesus, live a life of gratitude and praise, and live as a response to our salvation, not as a means of earning it.
Father God, thank you for what Jesus did for me. Thank you that through his perfect life, death and resurrection, salvation is available to me. Help me to live in response to what Christ has already accomplished for me. Amen.
What difference does it make in your life when you live not to earn God’s love and salvation, but as a response to what Jesus has already done for you?
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