Pray: Lord, how grateful I am for the faith You've given me. Strengthen my faith today as I read Your Word.
Read: Galatians 3:1-14
Reflect: What was the Galatians very serious mistake?
Here in Galatians is the shocking paradox of God’s righteous law. It is a shining light of truth, beauty and joy. And yet, for ordinary people like you, me and the Galatians, it brings a wretched, intolerable curse.
This is in large part because God’s law is just that: a single covenant. Either we embrace and obey it all, unquestioningly, or else we’re doomed. We must conform to every detail: those sections that naturally appeal to us, those we’re baffled by and the parts that are frightening. They may scare us either because we know we can’t keep these rules, however hard we try, or because we can’t understand how our loving Lord could have made such laws in the first place.
But what we think about it is not the point at all. Only by faith can a human being receive anything from God (14). It is fascinating that this is also true of the heroes of the Old Testament such as Abraham and Moses (see Heb. 11:23-31). But our faith does not depend upon anything we can do: only on the good news we have heard about Jesus.
Apply: Reflect on the faith you’ve received. Read 1 John 3:1,2. Thank God for giving you faith and making you his child.
Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, I know Your ways are right and good. Thank You for giving me the faith to follow.
