For a full description of the (Y3) reading plan, see the “About” page.
- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Gal. 4
Because of Jesus, God’s Spirit indwells us. And God’s indwelling Spirit does so much more than merely forgive our sins. He completely changes our relationship with God. It is the Spirit in us that cries out, “Abba, Father!” Why would we want to set aside that Spirit, which causes us to long for our loving Father, and stand before a holy and righteous judge? Yet that is exactly what we do when we rely on our own efforts for righteousness. Life as a Christian is not about being righteous. Jesus already made us so. Rather, it is about deepening the relationship with our Father, who loves us and gave everything for us. Will we get it perfect every time? Of course not. But it should hurt when we don’t. And God’s loving arms will always heal our hurts when we take them to Him.
Gal. 5
I like the phrasing in the CSB where Paul writes about the fruit of the Spirit. He says, “The law is not against such things.” (Gal. 5:23). For some reason, stating it that way makes it clear to me why we are free from the law when we walk by the Spirit. Or, more to the point, why we are slaves to the law when we don’t. When we walk according to the flesh, we are subject to the law because the flesh opposes the law. Since the law is in the right, it stands as judge over us. When we walk in step with the Spirit, however, we stay clear of the judgment of the law. True, we get out of step more than we care to admit. But because we are trusting in the Spirit rather than our flesh, we find mercy instead of judgment.
Gal. 6
When a fellow believer slips, that is not something to lift ourselves up on. “Let each person examine his own work, and then he can take pride in himself alone, and not compare himself with someone else.” (Gal. 6:4). I think Paul was being a little sarcastic here. If we weigh our work against somebody else’s, we might think we have reason to boast. If, however, we weigh it against the true standard – the standard of God – we will, without any doubt, find our own work just as lacking as our fallen friend’s. It’s like the point of one of my favorite quotes, I think from Josh McDowell. It goes something like, “What difference does it make if you can jump six inches or six feet when your target is the moon?”