Galatians 5 -- The Kind Of Faith That Works Through LOVE

“The kind of faith that works through love” kept ringing a bell in my head this morning as I read, and that part of verse 6 kept leading me to verse 24:  “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their own sinful selves.  They have given up their old selfish feelings and the evil things they wanted to do.”

Of course, this is totally backwards to what our physical bodies and our emotions are screaming.  “Satisfy me!  Right now!  Forget them!”  My commentary says, “It is the Spirit who is resisting the motions of evil within them, not they themselves.”  That’s the only way we can overcome “those old selfish feelings and the evil they wanted to do.”  Without His Spirit within us, we are powerless.

What kind of faith will I exhibit today?  One based on my own desire to “look like a good Christian”?  Or one entirely yielded to Christ because he loved me so and placed within me a Helper to show me daily how to be more like Him?  The peace that comes from that kid of faith is well-described in the sidebar in my Bible this morning:  “It implies that even though my enemies and detractors may be at war with me, I can be at peace with them … This peace is love quietly, strongly, persistently meeting every onslaught against it with good will.  It is that attitude of tranquility and tolerance in the face of angry attacks.”

Father, this almost takes Newton’s law of motion and spiritualizes it:  “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”  Help me to return love for evil today, Father.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford