If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:29).
An inheritance is an interesting thing.
You are legally, socially, and morally entitled to it, though you did nothing to earn it.
Except be born.
Or, in this case, born again.
Happy Friday, Beloved.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).
E Pluribus Unum
Out of Many, One
It’s one of the mottos of the United States. The words point out that, though we have come from many countries and cultures and creeds, we are one as American citizens.
Based on my news feed, America doesn’t feel very E Pluribus Unummy these days. We fight and march and protest to defend, even glorify, our differences, rather than celebrate what makes us one.
Oy.
God sees it differently, Beloved. When he looks at you, he doesn’t see color or gender or nationality or socioeconomic status. He sees his Son shining out through your eyes.
And he likes it.
Maybe today, just for a while, we can try to see this tired, angry world as he sees it?
Care to give it a try?
Happy Thursday, Beloved.
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ (Galatians 3:26-27).
You show up to the wedding dressed in cutoff jeans and a pair of flip flops.
There is no way you’re getting in wearing that nonsense.
But hold on, someone is coming. It’s the bridegroom. He smiles at you as though he were really glad to see you, as if you weren’t a total embarrassment in your grubbiosity. He takes off his tuxedo jacket and drapes it around your boney shoulders and your grimy T-shirt. Then he turns to the attendant and says, “It’s OK…this one’s with me.
And just like that, you’re in.
And you, who have never really belonged anywhere, belong here.
Welcome home.
Happy Wednesday, Beloved.
Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law (Galatians 3:25).
Remember having a babysitter? When you were a kid, your parents brought in the babysitter to keep you safe. The sitter had limited authority over you but, as you often pointed out to her, she was not your mom. At some point, your parents decided that you no longer needed a sitter; you were big enough to be on your own.
Or, you know, that they were sick of shelling out bucks to the babysitter.
The law worked in kind of the same way. It kept God’s people safe, gave them boundaries and rules and direction until…well, until it was time to be a grownup.
Abstract concepts like faith and redemption and eternity are hard for children to grasp, so God gave his children concrete examples like the lamb and the scapegoat and the incense and the oil. When he knew the time was right, he gave them Christ.
We often say we want to remain kids forever, but frankly it’s the grownups who get all the really cool stuff.
Be a grownup, Beloved.
Happy Tuesday
So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith (Galatians 3:24).
I once worked for a ministry that connected churches in the US with sister churches overseas. My job was to facilitate communications and streamline the process for the churches to visit one another. I worked hard, and after a few months I had created a system that was basically automatic. The churches no longer needed me as a go-between.
I had worked myself out of a job.
Oops
The law kind of worked that way. It was designed to lead people to Jesus, after which it was no longer needed. Those who continued to follow the law after the Resurrection were engaging in empty ritual. Kinda like continuing to read the road map after you’ve arrived. At some point you’ve gotta put the map down and get out of the car.
I wonder how much of our current worship is like that. How often do we focus on the song instead of the One the song was designed to lead us to? How many times have we paid more attention to the performers than to the true Audience? In how many of our churches–and hearts–do we value form over function?
I stayed with that job for a few months after I had redundificated myself. I pretended to my bosses and myself that my job still had value, but frankly it had none. That was some of the least fulfilling time I have ever spent.
Hmm…something to chew on.
Happy Monday, Beloved.
Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. (Galatians 3:23).
The Jews were bound by the do’s and don’t’s
by the jot and the tiddle
by the special day and the right month
by the rules and the restrictions
eat this but not that
go here but not there
now but not then
with him but not her
and for God’s sake wash your hands
until faith was revealed.
Beloved, what’s your excuse?
Happy Friday, Beloved.
But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Christ Jesus, might be given to those who believe (Galatians 3:22).
It’s a trap you cannot escape.
You can fight
you can dig
you can beg
you can strain
you can weep
you can press
you can shout
you can lift
you can scream defiance to the cosmos
you can employ all the awesome mightyness
of your pathetic punyness
against the trap.
But you cannot escape.
You must be set free by another.
Lucky for you, Beloved,
I know a guy.
Happy Thursday, Beloved.
Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law (Galatians 3:21).
If
If you could have earned it, God would have let you.
He knows you like to do stuff, to accomplish things.
He wants you to work hard and make things happen in your world.
He’s not trying to take anything away from you.
But this…
It’s just too much.
It can’t be done.
That’s not a challenge, Beloved.
It’s a fact,
and you don’t have to prove yourself,
you just have to accept him.
Happy Wednesday, Beloved.
The law was put into effect by angels through a mediator. A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one (Galatians 3:19-20).
Moses was God’s mediator to Israel.
No pressure there.
He was the go-between for the two sides of the agreement. And it was a two-party agreement, an “If you…then I” sort of thing.
“If you honor me, then I will honor you.”
“If you follow me, then I will bless you.”
“If you disobey me, then I will squish you.”
But God’s covenant with Abraham was not a two-party agreement. He did not demand anything from Abraham in return for his blessing. He simply made the promise.
A promise, by the way, that applies to you, remember?
He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit…
Yeah, that part.
So, Beloved you are a recipient, not a participant. The promise is yours, no strings attached.
So…don’t attach strings, OK?
Happy Tuesday, Beloved.
What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come (Galatians 3:19).
Kids need boundaries.
Look around. Just about every law we have in place is designed to curb some foolish and/or evil desire of Man. From speeding to slaughter, it’ll happen unless society says “No.”
And sometimes even if we do.
Oh, you can argue with the number of laws we have, or how restrictive they are, but the fact is that anarchy is a launching pad for evil. We just can’t handle total freedom.
God, being God, knew that, and gave his people the law. It worked to keep sin under a measure of control until Christ arrived.
I don’t know what boundaries God has placed in your life today. Maybe they’re financial, or relational, or career, or even physical. You probably chaff under those limitations the same way I chafe under mine. So here’s a thought: What say we look at these restrictions as God-given boundaries, provided, not imposed, given for a purpose and with all the wisdom and love that the Lord of the Universe has for us.
Until, you know, the time of the Promise has come.
Happy Monday, Beloved.