So foolish?

Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?                          Gal. 3.3

Paul appears to be quite angry with the Galatians. He well knows that they received salvation through his ministry, by faith and the power of the Holy Spirit. But it seems “legalists” have come in and caused confusion and disarray, and great concern to Paul with their preaching that the rituals of the law must be observed in order to assure salvation.

Paul shows his great annoyance with the Galatians for allowing themselves to be influenced by these, possibly genuine but ill-advised, people. God Himself makes clear to us what He wants:

To obey is better than sacrifice. (1 Sam. 15.22)

But how are we to show our obedience? Not in circumcision and the restrictive ways of legalism, but in loving the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.  And to love your neighbour as yourself. (Luke 10.27) This is what God would have and, I rigorously believe, this will only happen through the power of God’s Holy Spirit working in us. Compliance with rules and regulations will not bring love, grace and peace into our living. These things are the fruit of the Spirit.

Do we then ignore the law? By no means! Certainly there are parts of the law (sacrifices etc.) which no longer apply. The requirement for such was fulfilled by Jesus in His life and death. Other legal requirements were placed on the Israelites in their role as God’s chosen people living in His promised land. These do not apply in Gentile society.

But the fundamental “Ten commandments” surely underlie and undergird the whole endeavour of we believers to love God with every fibre of our beings and to love our neighbour as ourselves.

I cannot, then, ignore all of the law. But I must be careful to maintain only those parts that I need to, and not allow myself to become a narrow, legalistically law-abiding, religionist. My ally in this in none other than God’s Holy Spirit! I believe that, as I release myself into the care and guidance of the Holy Spirit, He will lead me into the fullness of life and truth.

I will not attain the goal by purely personal effort, but I cannot abdicate all action to the Holy Spirit. I have a responsibility, nay an obligation, to keep myself open to Him. I will fix my eyes on Jesus. I will do my utmost to observe and maintain those laws that enable me to love God to the fullest and my neighbour as myself. And I will surrender myself to God praying that He will have His full and perfect way in me.

Lord God,

I thank You for this time. I thank You for speaking with me as You have today. I thank You for the reminder that I will achieve nothing if I act like a legalistic prig. I thank You for giving further indication, and assurance that the way to You, the true way through Christ, I will find in Your Holy Spirit.

You have led me through several years of extended study. I thank You for this, for the revelation You have given me, the secrets You have shared, and the mysteries You have opened up. I thank You for all of this and I pray You will put this study to good use in the rest of my life. But I know it is nothing without the presence and leading of Your Holy Spirit in me.

I surrender myself totally and willingly to You. I pray the Your Holy Spirit will saturate me with divine presence. love and power. I yearn to be greatly effective in ministry for You. Yet I am so aware that I can do nothing in my own strength, I will not attain my goal by human effort.

Holy Father, the plan is Yours. You know the purposes You have for me. I give myself freely to You for the achievement of whatever You will of me. I ask You to nudge me if I am ever at risk of making the wrong move. I ask You to deal appropriately with me in any and every situation. If I put myself in the way of what You will for me then, please, bring correction.

I want to be totally, absolutely, sold out to You. Take me and make me Yours. May we begin right now. I ask You to lead me into, and through, this day. Let me be obedient to Your will. May I honour You in all that I do. I ask these things in Jesus’ name.                     Amen.