Galatians 5:6
“For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.”
What a great verse. From the beginning of time people have been attempting to access God by their own ideas and efforts. Paul is comparing all that to circumcision. His conclusion is "there is no benefit ". I understand this might be discouraging to those who have done much to curry favor with God. In the end it is great news. That person no longer has to manufacture or maintain all of it.
Our imagination can be a tyrant. We can come up with an endless list of things we should be doing or atleast doing better. It punishes us with shoulds. There is no rest. Our leisure experiences can be interrupted with the crack of the whip or the cruel guilt feelings that won't leave us alone. Paul is saying, "No more". We can give it a rest. There is no benefit to this.
I can sense a collective exhale. We can lean back and rest. It's done. In the words of Jesus, "It is finished". He's the one who did the back braking work to earn our salvation. Our efforts to improve it show doubt in His sacrifice. We are to restfully believe and say, "Thank you".
That's what Paul means by faith. It's been done, we just believe it. God did such an amazing job. It was perfect as well as expensive. It cost Him His life. That's why it didn't happen instantly after the fall in the Garden. It was a multi-thousand year plan which introduced Jesus two thirds the way through history to enact it. Paul tells us to have faith in this work. It was effective. We can stop trying to earn it.
The second part of Paul's charge brings in love. This is the greatest of God's attributes. He wants our lives to be full of it. God is love and Acts 17:28 says that "in Him, we live, move and have our being". His love is to be our motivation, our energy, and endurance.
As we read scripture, we see many facets of God. If we follow the logic, love touches all those parts. Love is in His justice, patience, omnipotence and so on. While some things may not feel like love, it may be. Jesus said in John 14:15, "If you love Me, you'll keep My commandments". This doesn't feel warm. He is saying obedience demonstrate our love for Him. This can be difficult. We may have to force ourselves at times. The point is love isn't just warm, happy feelings.
So, love is to be in the entirety of our lives. It's there when we are bored with the monotony of a tedious day. It's there when we are frustrated by being patient. It's there when we are discouraged with a world that is hostile towards what we believe.
Love steps up to the plate in high pressure circumstances. This is far from the mountain top experiences. While those are great and refreshing, love exists as we in the midst of working through tough circumstances.
As we grow in our faith, we limit the times we ask, "God, where were You in this?" We've learned that's when He was the closest. We've had the luxury of looking back and seeing how difficult things fit into the whole of our lives. Sometimes those things have made us. Those things have strengthened our faith.
We're back to faith. We were pondering how God's love is in the entirety of our lives, especially the tough times. It may not have felt like love, but it was there. We have come to believe that. The relationship between faith and love is an endless circle. We have come to believe that His love is everywhere in our lives as we walk with Him. That was difficult to see at the time, but we've learned that He won't give us something too difficult.
You are amazing God. We are now getting a small glimpse of how You work. We only see through a glass darkly. We would be speechless is we knew all that You were doing. Thank You for Your love which is all throughout our lives. Thank You for the faith that You've built within us that sees that. "What is important is faith expressing itself through love".