Are We There Yet?
Gal. 6:7-15 NKJV
Purpose: To become better persons leaving behind
our old human nature.
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man
sows, that he will also reap.
8 For
he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to
the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
9 And
let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we
do not lose heart.
10 Therefore,
as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of
the household of faith.
11 See with what large letters I have written to you with my
own hand! 12 As many as desire to make a good showing in the
flesh, these would compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not
suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.
13 For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but
they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.
14 But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom[a] the world has been crucified to me,
and I to the world.
15 For
in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a
new creation.
16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be
upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
Footnotes:
Galatians 6:14
Or by which (the cross)
This is the word of God
For the people of God
Praise be to God
Amen
Are We There Yet?
Gal. 6:7-15 NKJV
Purpose: To become better persons leaving behind
our old human nature.
I am pretty sure that each one of you has noticed that
dealing with people is not easy. We encounter so many different personalities,
different backgrounds, different experiences, different modes of personal
communication. The reality is that dealing with people is not easy at all. And
when we place people inside a car, a house, a school, and the church, then the
issues with people are going to be more obvious because now we have a specific
group of people.
For example, I am pretty sure that each one of us at
least once, has been in a trip that seemed to be longer that it really was. We
just wanted to reach our destination. It is not just for children to ask, are we there yet? We adults maybe don’t
verbalize it but we think about it. This question easily reveals two meanings:
(1) We are so excited to be in our vacations that we cannot wait to be there,
or (2) the trip has become emotionally intolerable and even painful. The key to
having a great and fun trip or an emotionally poor, sad, and upsetting trip is the people. For instance, when we
travel to the ocean, full of sun and sand that could easily become so relaxing
and fun; but one of our friends, and maybe more, he/she just discovers that the
sand aches his/her skin, and it does really bothers her/him. Well, all of us
know that sand aches and more when we are wet, getting out of the sea after
swimming. So our friend suddenly has discovered that the sand has become such a
problem for him/her, that he/she starts complaining about it the entire time
while we are trying to enjoying the vacation. Ok. We think maybe he is going to
take it easy, just ignore him. Later we go to eat and our friend notices that
the restaurant is expensive and he/she doesn’t want to spend so much money
eating there, her/his budget is not fitting for this kind of extravagances. It
is just the first day of a week vacation after a long driving and a hard year
of saving for it!!! Have you been in this
kind of predicament? Our friend is really a problem. We don’t want to deal
with him. This friend has the ability to ruin our so much needed and wanted
vacation. Then comes to our mind that God wants us to be kind, loving, and not
get tired to keep doing well to others. But
where is the limit for this person? Where is the boundary? On the other
hand, God is telling us that His Kingdom is at hand and it is good. My
vacations are part of His Kingdom. God is a god of balance. Does God want me to stop my friend? And
if He does, how can we be loving and kind with this friend in our dream
vacation before we kick him/her out of the rest of it? We don’t want to hurt
him. We don’t want to damage the friendship.
And what
about when this person is not a friend, it is a member of our family? or
when he is part of our church? It is a difficult situation, trying to enjoy
life when there is a person who just gets under our skin. And we pray, God, his personality and our personality just don’t match.
You have to change him. Or remove him from my life. I cannot deal with him.
Well, here is the Apostle Paul writing this letter to the
church of Galatia. We know that when the Apostle Paul writes to a church is
because they have a problem, and generally the problem is not small. There are
people who were Jews and now are Christians. There are people who were
polytheist, that is they believe in more than one god. And now as Christians
they believe in just one god. All of them are together in the church. Remember
that the church of the first century, they gathered every day for listening the
preaching of the Word of God, a meal, and to take communion. There is something
that has not changed at all. Here in the church of the first century and the
church of this current century where we
are grouped all sorts of people, with all sorts of personalities, experiences,
and backgrounds and it is called the church. And where there are people
always there are problems. But here comes Paul with the preaching of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ, where he has found that the conversion of the heart and mind
lead to the conversion of the one’s character. Paul knows that the answer for
the problem of the Galatians, and the church in general, is the assimilation of
the preaching of the Gospel. When the Word of God comes to us and we allow it
to take root, when we allow it to make its home in or hearts and minds, there
is an expected change inside us. Obviously, this change of mind and heart is
going to be reflected in our thinking, speaking, and living. Paul knows that
the Word of God is able to transform humankind. It is able to deliver us from
evil thinking and feeling. The Word of God is able to help with the conflicts
of the Galatians, with the problems of any of us. And do you know why the Word of God is transformative? Because we are a
new creation in Jesus Christ. The old human nature of us has passed away, all
things have become new (2 Cor. 5:17). Now if we are new creations by the
Spirit, we must walk in the Spirit. Our attention has to be on the matters of
the Spirit, not on the matters of the flesh, because if we pay attention to the
matters of the flesh, we will be corrupted by the world again. In contrast, if
we are alert to the matters of the Spirit,
we are going to sow everlasting life for us and for others. Paul encourages
us to do good to people but mainly to those who are part of their community of
faith, their church. Let me tell you something, when one is focusing on the
flesh, that means trying to be nice to people based on one’s own qualities and
merits, one looks fake and artificial. In contrast, when one tries to be nice
based on the Spirit, praying, “Please, God, change my heart that I can treat
this person with respect and love”; showing him/her patience when his/her
character shows up or when he/she shows self-centered attitudes. This is what Paul refers to in “doing good.”
How does it show or does it feel to do good? It feels inside us and several times even it shows on the outside that
the efforts to of doing good is, let the Holy Spirit, who lives inside us,
empower us with His holy character. It is when we fight or struggle to let the
Spirit to take control of our inner-self. It is when God is working in us.
So, my dear ones, to have conflicts with people is not
new at all. We know that we don’t want and we shouldn’t please people. We have
to want to please God. And when we please God, everything comes to the right
place, even the change of character and attitude toward others come easy. Let
us not grow weary in doing good for others, especially those of the community
of faith.
Let us pray
Dear and Good Father,
Dear Father, our human tendency very often hurts others,
but You have told us that we are new creation that the old tendencies have
passed away. It is time to give place to our new humanity. A humanity based on
the Holy Spirit, Your Spirit. We want to be more and more like Jesus Christ who
always knew how to approach people giving them love, respect, and being patient
with them. Help us to be attentive to the preaching of Your Holy Word that has
the power to transform and to empower us.
In Jesus’ name, we pray.
Amen.
Amen.
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