Thoughts for the Day

Paul an apostle—sent neither by human commission nor from human authorities, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—and all the members of God’s family who are with me. To the churches of Galatia:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed! As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed!

Am I now seeking human approval, or God’s approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ. For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

I don't know about you but I have been getting a lot of spam messages on my mobile phone. They always start with a warning of some imminent danger and demand you enter the website to sort things out. As soon as you make that first click things only get worse. The tone of the original message is always so assured, making you believe that disaster lies ahead if you don't act now!

Paul's letter to the Churches of Galatia (in modern Turkey) reminded me of the spam messages. It has an urgency about it, and a need to persuade us of the genuineness of his argument - although his demands offer life, rather than computer melt-down. Hebrew Christian visitors have told the Galatians that Paul was not one of the original 12 Disciples of Jesus, and that in fact he persecuted the new Christians after Jesus' death, seeking to destroy them.

All of this is true, and Paul must put the record straight fast. Look at his argument:

1. He received his commission from Jesus Christ himself, while on the road to Damascus (see Acts 9.1-9).
2. He regards every task given to him therefore as being given by God.

As Christians we too have been called by God, we have received baptism because of his prompting, and every good deed we do comes because we have listened to Him. Sometimes we can sense His presence or His voice, at other times we must weigh up decisions to act and decide whether the outcome is selfish or represents God's Kingdom of Love.

Lord Jesus Christ,
You commissioned Paul to be an Apostle
and to take Your Gospel to the Jews and later Gentiles.
May we never forget that we too as Christians
are to pass the Gospel on to others -
that You died and rose again to save us from our sin,
and to offer us eternal life.
Amen.