Scripture: Galatians 3:13
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us—because it is written, Everyone who is hung on a tree is cursed.
Thought for the Day: As mentioned earlier in a Devotional, the idea of being hung upon a tree was for Paul the most difficult idea to harmonize with his faith. He believed, as the scriptures seemed to indicate, that anyone hung upon a tree had the curse of God. It was this reason that Paul (when he was still Saul) was so passionate about his opposition to the followers of Jesus. Yet his experience on the Road to Damascus changed him so dramatically that he had to revisit and reinterpret this idea, and he does so by creating it into a metaphor for what Christ accomplished in his redemptive work. As I think about it, this metaphor appears to be one more way of describing the power of incarnation – the idea of God coming among us as one of us. At the end of the day, God does not leave us to problem solve our way out of guilt, hate, narcissism, self-loathing, grief and hopelessness. God becomes the solution in the clearest way possible – by facing all the problems, brokenness and disfunction himself – and by embodying the alternative life.
Prayer: As you came among us, O Incarnate Word, I have glimpsed a unique way of life. Let my glimpse stir a yearning to follow. Amen.
