Daily Devotional for June 11, 2015

Galatians 2:19-21
What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn’t work. So I quit being a “law man” so that I could be God’s man. Christ’s life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.

Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God’s grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily.

Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.  Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO.  All rights reserved.

In the early 1980s, actor/comedian Billy Crystal created a recurring character on NBC’s Saturday Night Live named Fernando. This was a parody of the real performer, Fernando Lamas…and the catchphrase was, “You look mahvelous!”  It didn’t matter what anyone said or did, “Fernando” would say, “But you look mahvelous!”  That’s what’s wrong with a lot of us as Christians…we’re so busy trying to “look mahvelous” that we have totally forgotten about following and serving God.

I love how Paul says that he quit being a “law man” so that he could be God’s man.  Isn’t that exactly how we should be looking at this?  Shouldn’t we be more focused on living the life of Christ rather than our own…doing the things that Jesus taught us, like loving one another, keeping the peace and getting along rather than insisting on our own way.  Shouldn’t we be striving to stay pure in heart and mind -  hungering for the word of God?  What could happen if we lived our lives in such a way that others saw Jesus in us…rather than someone who was trying to impress or create a good image of themselves for the world?

We must ask ourselves…do we want to look like true disciples of Christ…or do we merely care about looking “mahvelous?” As Paul points out, the latter indicates the opinion that there was no good reason for Christ’s death on the cross.  And I just don’t buy that…do you?  Are you following the rules…of society, the church, and your peers…or are you following God?  How you answer makes all the difference!


©2015 Debbie Robus

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