Recommit Yourself to God
(Day 4 of Lent – 21 Feb 26)
“O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:1-3)
In the Message Bible, Paul’s first words in his letter to the Galatians were translated as “You crazy Galatians!”
I laughed reading this because that is how the Holy Spirit greets me when I come to the end of myself, given up trying and fallen helplessly to my knees in defeat.
So many times, I try to behave like the good Christian I ought to be, especially the bit about honouring your father and mother. But all the good intentions go down the drain when my mother looks disapprovingly at the soup pot I busied myself all day and remarks dismissingly that I should have used rou yuan instead of spare pork ribs when cooking soup for my son.
Perhaps it is good advice from a place of genuine Asian care and concern. Yet I am still ticked off by the subtexts of distrust and undermining of my authority.
No doubt I will feel guilty afterwards for not holding my tongue in respect and vow to do better during my nighttime prayers. And when the next time comes, I may fare better at the rehearsed comments, but fail miserably at the following ones, leaving me with those same feelings of wretchedness again.
So, it makes perfect sense to me when Paul suggests that the “law shows us the futility of dressing religious system by our own efforts.” (v21)
Yet, he does not leave us hopeless. Paul finishes off with the good news that “the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” (v22)
The realization that God’s redeeming grace, through Christ’s work at the cross, helps me be the best that I can be and as how God intends in the first place, is so freeing!
I have seen how when I truly reckon with the Holy Spirit that this Salene, who has gone crazy believing that she can accomplish goodness through her own efforts, can truly let go and let God. It is He who prescribes a new set of lenses to situations. It is He who restores broken imperfect communication. It is truly humbling and immensely comforting that the fruit of patience and joy is borne not out of my own toil, but grown by His Spirit.
I urge you then, my crazy friends, to go back to that day you first received grace and recommit yourself to God with great expectancy by allowing His spirit to complete the work He promised to you.
Salene Teng🙏✝️
Cornerstone Cell