Scripture: Galatians 2:4-5
But false brothers and sisters, who were brought in secretly, slipped in to spy on our freedom, which we have in Christ Jesus, and to make us slaves. We didn’t give in and submit to them for a single moment, so that the truth of the gospel would continue to be with you.
Thought for the Day: Paul speaks of spies who infiltrated worship gatherings in which Jews and Gentiles came together equally, and these gatherings had no requirements beyond the two great commandments of Jesus – Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor. Paul described these gatherings as an expression of the freedom found in Christ. To do anything else was to go backwards, a movement toward slavery in the mind of Paul. In these verses, Paul uses military language which provides a pretty clear understanding of how Paul saw this conflict. It was a battle, and he had no plans of retreating back into what he saw as spiritual confinement. At the same time, the kind of inclusion and welcome Paul described would have appeared radical in the minds of some, and outright blasphemous to others. The Christian faith has always struggled over what it meant to be an insider, a member of the community. Paul is passionate when it comes to God’s grace as the single gift that brings us into the family of God, but there are times when even Paul seems to slip a bit on that idea. It is tough to be a community where every member is given freedom to explore his/her faith, to be challenged without being judged, encouraged to ask questions that others may not be asking, and to be respectful even when someone else holds a belief that stands in opposition to your own. Just like in the United States – we celebrate and defend freedom, but it can become very messy and ugly when two freely chosen ideas stand in opposition to each other. Quite often – in both religion and politics – it appears as if people are saying, “We have this freedom, and in this freedom, I have discovered an important truth, and now you need to accept and follow what I have discovered in that freedom.” What does it mean to love and listen to someone with whom you disagree?
Prayer: Give me patience, Lord. Provide me a quiet place, especially when I want to argue and belittle the beliefs of others. Draw me close, O Gracious One, and remind me how my beliefs are far from perfect. Amen.
BIG DAY TOMORROW
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