A Life Worthy

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1).

Today is Independence Day.  Maybe not on the calendar, but in our hearts. Today we celebrate our freedom.   Christ has set us free from our bondage to sin.  He has set us free from our need to try and earn our salvation, to somehow save ourselves.  He has set us free from the stress and worry and angst and anxiety which so often attack us.

Hear me, Beloved.  I’m not saying that those things are gone.  On the contrary, sin and self-righteousness and anxiety are still very much evident in this world and, at times, in our lives.  What I am saying is that you are no longer in bondage to them.

When Paul wrote the above verse to the Galatians he was talking about freedom from the Mosaic Law.  Some Jews had chosen to follow Christ, but still felt compelled to meet the demands of the old covenant.  Paul was pointing out that a person who has Christ no longer needs the old law, and to try and follow it is to be like a slave who, once free, returns to his chains.

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that, for some of us, worry and stress operate in the same way as the Mosaic Law.

It’s about power.

The Judaizers liked the Law because it gave them a sense of control over their destinies.  They had rules to follow, stuff to do, that they thought would get them to Heaven.

“But Michael, I don’t worry because I feel powerful.  I worry because I feel powerless.”

Yes, but it’s still about power.  About control.  You worry because you know you are not in control, and you desperately want to be.  Because if you’re not in control, someone else is, and there’s a part of you that just cannot handle that.

I’m in the same boat, by the way.  May I steer?  Of course not.

Sometimes trust seems beyond our grasp.  And without trust, there is no rest.

So let’s pray for trust today, shall we?  I’ll pray for you, and you for me.  Maybe we can both be set free.

Today is the day to celebrate your independence.

And your dependence.

Happy Wednesday, 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 Monday, 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 really it’s the grownups who get all the really cool stuff.

Be a grownup, Beloved.

Happy Thursday

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’ts

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.

Yep, that’s what bound them.

Beloved, what’s your excuse?

Happy Tuesday

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 it.

And him

Happy Friday, Beloved.