If you were raised with religion you likely learned about the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit. If you weren’t, and you’re curious about what it means
to be a Christian, you’re better off to start without pre-conceived
notions that are hard to dispel, so you’re ahead of the game.
In our brand of religion I learned the rules and regs, but God was only
part of my life on Saturdays for religious instructions, (now called
CCD), and Sunday mass. I did not learn that God was a loving, merciful,
and forgiving Father that saw me as His masterpiece. To me, He was
wrathful and impossible to please. I was imperfect, less than, not a
beloved child. Maybe that’s why I became so performance driven.
Recently, in our reading from the book of Galatians, the apostle Paul is in the thick of dispelling false teachings among the churches in Galatia, a province of the Roman Empire that now lies within modern-day Turkey. He had planted several churches in this region on his first missionary trip. Now he’s back to set the record straight between the Jewish believers in Jesus and the non-Jewish believers, aka Gentiles.
The exclusive Jews became unhinged with the idea that Gentiles didn’t have to convert to Judaism, be circumcised, and observe the laws of Moses if they were considered to be followers of Jesus. This meant anyone in the world could be part of their group! The rules and regs imprinted in their brains just could not fathom this atrocity! Never mind the cultural barriers. Jews and Gentiles did not co-mingle, at all. How could they have fellowship among them?
This book is one of foundational knowledge regarding New Testament theology. All the core truths of the Christian faith are laid out in it. Brian Hardin make a valid points in his book, THE GOD OF YOUR STORY, on pages 262 and 263:
“It’s fair to acknowledge the tension…and its validity…Jewish believers couldn’t conceive of abandoning their religious convictions surrounding the Mosaic law—especially since Jesus had lived in the same environment. But Gentiles had never known about Moses or any of the rules and rituals associated with being a Jew. It was difficult to imagine how these brothers and sisters would ever be able to live up to the law’s requirements when the Jews, who had been raised in them, couldn’t keep them.”
The rules. The rituals. No relationship. Adherence to the law is what mattered to them.
Paul’s argument?
“…was that the law revealed a person’s failures and thereby condemned them. In other words, if the law details the requirements for being right with God, then no one could ever be right with God, because no one had ever been able to obey it fully — except Jesus….Paul was completely subverting a belief system and suggesting that it had been replaced by a new covenant found only in Jesus — a covenant of grace and faith rather than adherence to a set of rules and regulations.”
Followers of Jesus receive the Holy Spirit when we profess our faith in Him, not by following a rule book. Galatians 3:1-9 says,
1Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. 2Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 4Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?
5I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.
6In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” 7The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.
8What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.
If our stance with God, and our own perception of self, depends on us following the rules, we’re all in trouble and Jesus went to the cross for no reason. As a child, my perception was black and white, and there was no knowledge of the kind of relationship God wants with His humans. Maybe I just wasn’t paying attention, but I have no recall of hearing about this back when. My inability to stay inside the lines, and the mean eyes of that scary priest at our church, left no room for anything but guilt, shame, and condemnation in my little girl world.
This is why people say things like, “I believe God exists but I hate religion.” And I then say, “God hates religion more than you do, ‘cause it makes Him look bad. God doesn’t want religion with you. He wants relationship.”
So, back to my original question:
Are you able to see yourself as God’s masterpiece? Or do you live under a veil of shame for all your badness, unable to shake that old feeling from your childhood and beyond?
It’s hard to do even when you are in God’s Word and in fellowship with others. I am learning, in my newest women’s group, that so many of us are burdened by the inability to forgive ourselves for being who we are — imperfect people. No matter the condition of our hearts, we live in a broken world that will continue to beat us over the head. How can we possibly see ourselves as a masterpiece when we are looking through the world’s lens?
We live to please people, to fit in, to measure up, when we should be living to please God FIRST. Yes, FIRST; even before our children, our spouses, our parents and our peer groups.
Let me be clear: this does not suggest perfection by any stretch. It simply means to refocus. Put the first thing first. His bright light will illuminate every dark corner and show you what’s hiding under all the dust bunnies. Then He will help you clean them up.
Funny thing happens when you change who’s on the pedestal of your life. If it’s another human, a job, a goal, a possession…well, I can tell you from experience, it’s a losing battle. Especially when nothing you do is enough to satisfy that idol in your life. When you honestly put Jesus on that pedestal and earnestly seek His pleasure, His approval, His wisdom, your perspective changes. You see His hand reaching for yours, pulling you up and out, dusting you off to reveal the masterpiece underneath.
I pray you reach up and grab hold of Him, for dear life. He will give you the desire and the power to please Him, just like it says in Philippians 2:13. If there’s one person to please in your life, let it be Jesus.
13For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
Blessings over all. Peace in Christ to those that know Him.
