Skip to main content

God First, Man Second: Galatians 2:20

Each Monday I am posting a scripture and asking the simple questions; what does this say about God? What does this say about me? I am cooming to believe that the order in which we ask those questions is vital to getting the correct answers.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  ~Galatians 2:20

What this tells me about God is quite simple. God loves me. He loves me so much, in fact, that He gave His Son, Jesus, for me. I know that we're about 2 days away from seeing Christmas decirations hit the stores and there are some sweet toys out there that I want. For my kids. Really. But nothing I give or get this Christmas will compare to this gift that God has already given.

It won't. It can't.

So I know that God knows how to give great gifts. I also know that this was not a simple one-and-done kind of gift. Paul, who write Galatians, says that Christ lives in us. So apparently God is like eating Taco Bell, it's the gift that keeps on giving.

Leaving that thought quickly, let's figure out what this verse tells us about us. It certainly sounds like we die. We die by crucifixion and we no longer live, except by faith in the Jesus. Sounds pretty finite, which is probably a good thing. If I were still living, trying to help Jesus make decisions for me, it would probably be pretty obvious what came as a result of my influence. It would be something fairly similar to Leonardo da Vinci painting teh Last Supper, but allowing his kid to put the finishing touches on it...in crayon.

I guess it's a good thing it's not about me.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Accountable

I recently officiated a wedding. The ceremony was simple, lovely, and ended with another couple professing to keep the covenant of marriage. But it all started with a clarification...from me. At our first premarital counseling session, as I have done with every couple I have agreed to marry, I clarified a couple of matters. First, I officiate Christian weddings, where both spouses-to-be are professing Christians. I firmly believe that marriage is difficult enough, without adding disagreements about God into the mix. Second, as a minister of Jesus Christ, I believe the pastor’s role in a wedding is to represent the blessing of God on that union. So we have several sessions of premarital counseling where we discuss married life. It’s not that I have this imaginary card in my head, with a picture of me on the front and my stats on the back. (You know, like a baseball card.) Ok, I do picture cards. Pastor cards! And being a competitive guy, I want my stats to look good. The number of coupl...

The Facebook Maybe

Granted, I'm a pastor. I have Type-A tendencies. Ok, my tendencies border on freakish OCD behavior patterns, but... Few things bother me more than the Facebook 'maybe'. I suppose I could go on and on about the grey areas of our society and the refusal of people to accept absolute standards. I could discuss the great need of people to accept that what is wrong for one person is likely wrong for everyone. I should certainly be concerned about mentioning that someone might have sin in their life. But I don't believe the Facebook 'maybe' is quite sin. Perhaps if I were coming up with new sins, I would add this to the list. But alas... Some might think the Facebook 'maybe' did not exist prior to the Internet, but they would be wrong. When I was in high school and asked a girl out on a date, I would normally be told that if they had no other plans, if nobody else called them, if there was nothing good on television and their hair did not need washing, then per...

But I Wanted It

As I've said before , I'm looking for a new place to do youth ministry. Job searching in itself can be a full time task. Unfortunately, no one is paying me to look for a job. And when you haven't had to find a job in 15 years, the whole experience can feel brand new. And nerve-wracking. And quiet. So very, very quiet. I may spend a few hours here and there sending out my resumes and writing cover letters. But the churches I'm sending my information to have their own timeline. And sometimes that timeline does not involve acknowledging my presence. Which is fine, especially if one of the churches I've applied to is reading this right now. I understand those looking for youth pastors will have their own agenda and their own timeline. But it leaves me sitting here with a deafening quiet around me. I am choosing to walk by faith through these days, picturing God working behind the scenes (always behind the scenes) and holding His voice very still, until He is re...