Galatians 5 : 13-23 (NRSV)
For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence,* but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.
Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.
Daily Byte
Paul offers a challenging contrast in his letter to the Galatians. On the one hand he speaks about a “lawless” life - a life of following destructive desires - and a “lawful” life - a life of following the Law of Moses, which brings no freedom or joy. On the other hand he speaks about love as the fulfilment of the law, and of the fruit of the Spirit that is produced in the lives of those who truly follow Christ. There is no law needed for this kind of life. If we ever needed to know that holiness is not about following rules, we know it now. But, this life of love can be a much a harder way to live than following the law. It calls us to be compassionate even to our enemies. It challenges us to offer hospitality even to those we would rather not associate with. It confronts us with our own brokenness and the way it hurts others, while offering us wholeness, leaving us no excuse for not becoming “wholeness-bringing” people. Can there be a more whole way of living than the fruit of the Spirit? And if it is so readily available to us, what stops us from receiving it?
In what ways are you still trying to achieve holiness by following laws? In what ways have you missed the freedom, and the glorious captivity, of living in love? Which fruit of the Spirit do you think are most evident in you life? Which are the least evident? In what ways can your worship help you to grow this spiritual fruit more abundantly in your life? Can you make a commitment now to open yourself to God’s Spirit to do this work in you as you worship this week?
Pray As You Go
It’s so easy to live by the law, God;
just tick the commandments off on a list,
and just silence the whisper of conscience with a legal score card;
no mess, no fuss,
no people, no relationships, no confusing circum-stances to consider.
But, that’s not what you call me to, is it?
You ask of me a much simpler, more complicated thing,
the nurturing of fruit that brings life and love,
the freedom - and the constraints - of character-building, of people blessing, of holiness finding.
As I grow closer to you, Jesus, may I also become more like you,
may the fruit of your Spirit begin to grow in me,
and may I know, and share, the abundant life it brings.
Amen.
Today’s devotion is taken from Rev John van de Laar’s outstanding book ‘The Hour That Changes Everything: How worship forms us into the people God wants us to be.’ Used with permission.
To order copies of this book and for other superb worship resources visit http://www.sacredise.com
No comments:
Post a Comment