Author: Megan Langan

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 6:11-18 (day four)

Paul ends his letter with both a literal and a metaphorical exclamation point. After six chapters of unpacking the true meaning of Christian freedom, he makes one last accusation of the Judaizers. He claims that the people attempting to force their rules of circumcision on the Galatians had only one motive: to look good in front of others because they lacked the courage to live by faith, sharing in Christ’s suffering and death.

This is a tough pill to swallow. When we try to add to grace and claim, “Jesus and ___” we are not living by faith in Christ alone. In verse 15 Paul reminds us that a life of faith, and therefore a life of freedom, isn’t about what you or I do, but about Christ – what he has done, is doing, and will do. Adding other explicit rules or unspoken standards make it about us, sending us right back into that life of bondage to sin through our pride. A life of true freedom is a life focused on Christ, and Christ alone.

This is what we remind ourselves of when we approach the communion table. I loved our time of communion a few weeks ago at our combined service, approaching the table in unity to remind ourselves of who Christ is, and therefore who we are. That we are called to participate in Christ’s suffering and death, but also his resurrection and life. Jesus created this practice so that we might be reminded that he is sufficient for us, Christ alone.

As you approach your Thanksgiving table today, may it remind you of the communion table, and your calling to a life of freedom in Christ, Christ alone.

Happy Thanksgiving, church family!

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 6:1-10 (day four)

After reading about the fruits of the Spirit last week, did one of them stick out to you? The command to be gentle has stuck out to me lately, and it seems that Paul had gentleness on his mind too as he wraps up his letter to the Galatians. The Spirit will produce gentleness in our lives.

More often than not, though, I feel like a bull in a china shop. I put my foot in my mouth and say the wrong thing, I go into a conversation ready to get my way and defend my own ideas, my “correction” or critique of others  comes off harsh and prideful. I have a lot of room in my life for the fruit of gentleness to ripen.

Why is this particular command so difficult? It may be because gentleness doesn’t get us very far in the ways of the world. The world tells us to be pushy and to do whatever it takes to get ahead. When I act in this way and move through life quickly and harshly, I’ve conformed to the ways of the world without even thinking. As Christ continues to renew us, we will begin to see more opportunities to sow gentleness, and in so doing, we will look more like Christ.

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 5:16-26 (day four)

My favorite attraction at water parks is the lazy river. There’s something blissful about sitting back and letting the current send you slowly drifting down the stream. Sometimes the river is so lazy that you’re hardly aware it’s moving you, until you look up and realize you’ve gone further than you thought. This is all well and good on vacation, but when the same thing happens to us spiritually, it’s a very different story. The natural flow of life does not lead toward righteousness. There are times when life is busy or we’re distracted by the things of the world, and we find ourselves in the lazy river, slowly drifting towards unrighteousness without even realizing it.

At first we may think, “well, it’s not so bad, I haven’t drifted that far.” Soon, though, we look up and realize we’ve slowly gone a lot further than we thought, and this depiction of fleshly deeds is starting to sound a lot like us. It may not be all at once, but the rhythms of the world will always lead to a life of destruction.

But when we begin catching the rhythms of the Spirit, things start to look different. When we encounter the Holy Spirit, God lifts us up out of our lazy drift and sets our feet on solid ground, leading us into all truth. As we walk in that truth we begin to see the fruit of the Spirit ripen in us. This leads us to the question, then – how do we keep in rhythm with the Spirit? What practices help you walk by the Spirit rather than drifting into the rhythms of the world? Is there a new spiritual discipline you’d like to try as you continue to see fruit grow in your life?

That lazy river may seem appealing now, but the fruit of the Spirit is too sweet to miss.

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 5:1-15 (day four)

Paul has made it clear throughout this letter to the Galatians: Christ brings freedom. Subjugation to anything else will inevitably bring us back under the yoke of slavery. Now, though, we get a picture of what this freedom is meant to look like.

This message of freedom doesn’t promote the post-modern idea that “anything goes” and that we all ought to “pursue our own truth.” It isn’t a license to do or believe whatever we want. Rather, this freedom from Christ allows us to live in such a way that we can love one another with the very love of God. The freedom that Christ offers isn’t just an absence of shackles, it is the presence of divine grace. It is a perfect freedom.

The certifiable stamp of real freedom, then, is love. When we love our neighbor as ourselves, we are living in true freedom. The only yoke worth submitting to is that of Christ, because mysteriously, it is under this yoke that we experience perfect freedom.

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 4:21-31 (day four)

When we think of Biblical lessons that teach us about courage, we often think of the Israelite army going into battle, or David facing Goliath, or even the prophets speaking out against the sins of Israel. But often, being courageous simply means staying steadfast and waiting on the Lord. Waiting on God’s timing is an act of immense courage.

Abraham received a promise from God that he would have a child in his old age, but he tried to bring it to fulfillment in his own power and his own timing. To be fair, the promise God gave to Abraham didn’t make logical sense – he and Sarah were well passed child-bearing years. But that’s part of what makes faith an act of courage – it defies logic.

We have all attempted to rush-order the fulfillment of a promise we received from God. And just like Abraham, we’ve seen the consequences that come with our lack of patience. When Abraham chose to take matters into his own hands, it caused grief for Hagar, Ishmael, and for Abraham. There are always consequences on the other side of disobedience. Thankfully, despite our disobedience, the promises of God will never return void.

We can have courage to wait on the Lord because we know that his Word is good. Sometimes the most courageous thing to do is to be still.

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 4:12-20 (day four)

“So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?”

As a child going through school, I used to loathe when the teacher would arrange a debate. This was partly because I tend to be conflict-avoidant, but mainly because I would always leave the debate feeling dumb or gullible. I would hear the arguments of one side, and think to myself, “Well, that makes sense. I agree with this team.” But then the other side would present their case, and I would think to myself, “Well…they make some good points. Maybe I agree with them now.” My views would change in a moment and I would leave feeling confused. The debate teams trying to convince me of their way of thinking began to feel like my enemies.

It wasn’t until I was an adult that I realized this wasn’t a matter of intelligence, but of patience and steadfastness, and a grounding in God’s Word. I learned that rather than getting sweet-talked into the latest way of thinking, I could take the time to sit with the Holy Spirit and hold arguments and new ideas up to the light of Scripture. As the Word of God began to take root in me, I began to feel less anxious about determining my beliefs, and more confident that the Spirit would guide me into truth.

The Galatians accepted the truth of Christ, but they were still young in their faith. A different truth claim was presented to them, and they were swept away by it in a moment. In their confusion, the Biblical truth that Paul presented to them now felt harsh, like it was coming from an enemy. If we have witnessed the truth of Christ, may we let it settle in out hearts. Let’s learn from the Galatians so that when the wind and the waves come, or in this case, the arguments and debates, we will have a firm foundation on which to stand.

 

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 4:1-11 (day four)

It’s easy to remember the past with rose-colored glasses. The troubles of today make the hardships of the past not seem so bad. We see this in the Israelites when they’re journeying through the wilderness and in want of food. They complain to Moses, “It would have been better for us to remain enslaved in Egypt than die here in the wilderness!” Of course, it would not have been better for them back in Egypt. Their present troubles were clouding their judgement. Of course, they found a way to spiritually enslave themselves again through their sin.

Paul is accusing the Galatians of the very same thing. They grew up enslaved to pagan traditions, not Jewish law. But the law was in their midst now, and it was tempting to them. It was drawing them back into a life of servitude. Paul insinuates that adopting the law now would be akin to returning to paganism, the very thing that held them captive before. When we let the law do anything other than point us to Christ, we become enslaved to it. We could ask of the Galatians, “Why would you want to do that? Why would you want to give up your newfound freedom?” But we don’t have to, because we fall victim to this same pattern.

What is it about our flesh that draws us to these things that harm us? Paul will expound on that more in the next chapter, but let this serve as a checkpoint for us: what things of this world, things of our past, worldly ideologies, or pet sins do we see with rose-colored glasses? Let’s take those glasses off, see things for what they are, and hold on to our freedom in Christ.

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 3:15-29 (day four)

We often say that you shouldn’t trust something until it’s in writing. Only then can you put any stock in it, and stand on it as truth. That’s because our promises as sinful men are pretty flimsy. We say “I promise, I’ll call you when I get home,” and then forget as soon as we walk through the door. Or we say “I’ll take care of that tomorrow, I promise,” but a week goes by and you still haven’t tended to it. The word ‘promise’ doesn’t mean much when it’s coming from us, because a promise is only as sure as the person giving it. A law sounds much more sure to us than a promise.

But Paul is reminding us that the Kingdom of God, once again, is different. God granted Abraham an inheritance by means of a promise. The law was only meant to point us towards the one in whom that promise would be fulfilled. In our sin, though, we took the law and put all our stock in it, thinking it was surely a firmer foundation than a promise. But all this means is that we have gravely misunderstood the one giving us this promise.

Life with God is a life built on promises. I wonder if that’s why we so quickly run back to our old ways of living – building a life on the promises of God alone takes a huge amount of faith, especially in the world we live in. But here is our assurance – God is infinitely more likely to raise someone from the dead than to go back on his promise. He has already made it so. His promises are sure.

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 3:1-14 (day four)

Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

I am great at starting things. I get excited about a new project or idea, and I spend time putting in the research, finding the right resources, and making a plan. These efforts normally get me about a third of the way through it, but then things seem to stall or fall apart. I get distracted with other ideas spurred on by the current project, I get discouraged by an unforeseen obstacle, or I lose sight of why I started this project in the first place and the work is no longer joyful.

Again, I am great at starting things. But when left to my own devices, I am terrible at finishing them. This happens in our faith, too. When we have an encounter with Jesus, we become so full of joy in the Spirit that we press forward with energy and hope, looking for how the Spirit is moving. Over time though, we might get distracted. We lose sight of what this gospel work is all about. We take into our own hands what was meant to be carried by Jesus and we pollute the gospel message with our own pride, just like the Galatians. What Christ began through the Spirit, we try to complete in the flesh.

The good news, though, is that this isn’t a lesson in learning to finish what we start, but rather humbly letting the one who started a good work in us bring it to completion in Christ Jesus. All that is required is faith. Faith like Abraham, the one by whom God’s promises were given to us. May we find renewed joy in surrendering to the Spirit.