Monday
Galatians 4:10-14
Sometimes I find St. Paul a bit hard to follow. What he stated in Galatians 4:10 -14 seemed unsettling. He called God’s law a curse. In another translation I have, he called the Galatians stupid!
Clearly he was impatient with them and their efforts to find an alternative to accepting their need to have faith in what Jesus did for them - including Gentiles - through his crucifixion. Furthermore, what is wrong with following the laws God gave to His people hundreds of years before? How many times have we been told to obey the ten major ones?
Unfortunately, even with our best intentions, we slip up, often doing so deliberately. Obeying all aspects of God’s law just isn’t possible. We therefore “all fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) No wonder Paul called the law a curse. So how on earth can we attain God’s grace?
The answer? Believe God sent his son Jesus Christ to mix with us on earth. Here Jesus taught us more godly ways to live. Although those original laws remain valid, he summarized them with two major rules: love God with all our hearts, souls and minds, and love our neighbors as ourselves. Even here, however, we often fail although we never should stop trying.
Fortunately, God forgives because he loves us and because Jesus took responsibility for our failings - our sins - with his death on a cross. With his resurrection, anyone of us with faith can look forward to joining him some day.
John Coe
Galatians 4:10-14
Sometimes I find St. Paul a bit hard to follow. What he stated in Galatians 4:10 -14 seemed unsettling. He called God’s law a curse. In another translation I have, he called the Galatians stupid!
Clearly he was impatient with them and their efforts to find an alternative to accepting their need to have faith in what Jesus did for them - including Gentiles - through his crucifixion. Furthermore, what is wrong with following the laws God gave to His people hundreds of years before? How many times have we been told to obey the ten major ones?
Unfortunately, even with our best intentions, we slip up, often doing so deliberately. Obeying all aspects of God’s law just isn’t possible. We therefore “all fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) No wonder Paul called the law a curse. So how on earth can we attain God’s grace?
The answer? Believe God sent his son Jesus Christ to mix with us on earth. Here Jesus taught us more godly ways to live. Although those original laws remain valid, he summarized them with two major rules: love God with all our hearts, souls and minds, and love our neighbors as ourselves. Even here, however, we often fail although we never should stop trying.
Fortunately, God forgives because he loves us and because Jesus took responsibility for our failings - our sins - with his death on a cross. With his resurrection, anyone of us with faith can look forward to joining him some day.
John Coe
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