March 11, 2025: Tuesday Bible Study on Paul’s letter to the Galatians 5:22-26
Good morning to you! Yes, that's an exclamation mark. It is a gorgeous day, filled with hopes for perhaps an inch of rain over the next four days. There is no doubt that God is good to His children, even though we may from time-to-time wonder if how we are doing is good. You have the prayer requests from yesterday, and of course there are many needs for harmony around our globe. I guess my big question as a Christian citizen of our nation, is if we will be a part of the harmony, or if instead we will be the cause of the loss of harmony. I know this is a question that we ponder very often over politics, what will work, and what won't work, and yet we encounter these very same tensions and questions in our congregations. Will we have harmony with our brothers and sisters in our home congregation, and even in the broader church of many denominations, or will we set aside this morning's passage from Paul's letter. This passage makes me feel really positive and good about the life we share in Jesus Christ, but we all know that we won't get it right all of the time. When that happens, we are in the condition which Paul names "works of the flesh", that's the works which are not aligned with another name which Paul also uses, perhaps most especially in the setting, where the Galatian Christians are being drawn away from the fullness of Christ's grace, the "fruit of the Spirit". The problems here for Paul are that these Christians are looking askance at one another when they try to reach a superior position through circumcision and using the law as the most important part of our life in the church. All of this really breaks the bonds of Christian fellowship in which everyone considers everyone else an equal in Grace. So, let's revisit these "fruits of the Spirit". They are love, joy, peace, great heartedness, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Wow! There is certainly no restriction on any of these things through the law. All would be considered wonderful attributes, and if we could all do them all of the time, the attraction to the Gospel filled church would bring people into the church in numbers we would not believe. But what many people have heard, and even experienced, is that the modern church is filled with division due to power struggles and individual egos and personal injuries which all are boldly out in the open for people to see. Look again at this list. This is something which a person cannot do just because it is required. No, these fruits of the Spirit enter our lives when we really have a metanoia, a change of heart in Christ. They become an integrated part of our words and our deeds every single day. Let me give you an example. If another member of the congregation has in some way caused you or someone you love a problem, and you continue to carry your frustration and anger over that issue, then it becomes so important that we confess this on-going brokenness in our lives, and open our very soul to the peace that passes all understanding, that is, Christ's love for us even when we struggle to let go of what has happened. In the Galatian church how would potential converts understand a person in that place in their life. It is the kind of thing that we experience in the world. where people often treat one another in undignified ways. However, this is not the place to which Christ calls us, and the place to which His Spirit guides us. In the equality which Christ brings to us, the fruit of the Spirit is crucial in how the Gospel's message of the promise of life, forgiveness, and Salvation enter into the lives of both current members and those who consider the possibility of the present Christ being part of their lives too. We are the instruments of Christ's abiding Love for everyone. Take a few minutes and assess how you are doing, offer confession, and make some promises to let the Spirit be your guide in all the places of your life.
With love in Christ, Pastor Kim
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