Galatians
Galatians 5:1
Have you ever had to welcome someone “different” into your group / organization / workplace / club / etc.? You know, someone who just doesn’t think / act / dress / look / smell like you do.
It’s hard. Sometimes it’s really hard.
What if they don’t believe the way you do? What if they come into your church, discover grace through Jesus, and suddenly want to be a part of things. They have no clue to how things have been done – and really don’t care. All they know is they have connected to God, and they want to be around others who have also connected to God.
How would you feel? Now, before you sound all spiritual and tell me that you’d be thrilled, I want you to think about it.
What if you’ve spent your entire life following a certain religious tradition and suddenly someone comes along who wants to experience God, but has no interest in your way of doing things?
It would be hard to accept.
That’s what the book of Galatians is about. And over the next few weeks or so (likely about a month), we are going to examine the letter the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Galatia.
In a nutshell, he’s writing this letter to a bunch of Jewish Christ followers who are having to work through the idea that Gentiles are now a part of the scene. And not only are they a part of things, they are supposed to be treated as equals!
For the Jewish Christ followers, it means admitting that God is now opening up the door to everyone – not just the Jewish people! Talk about a huge shift in thinking!
This is a letter that speaks about grace, freedom, acceptance, community. It is a letter that challenges religious thinking and encourages a new way of doing things.
If you’ve been following along with our latest sermon series (either by attending or listening to the video or audio podcasts), you know that I’ve been challenging “religion”. I’ve been suggesting that Jesus did not come to establish a new religion called Christianity, but rather he came to end all religion and open the door to a new way of connecting to God.
Galatians is a book that speaks volumes into that idea.
I hope you enjoy the journey with me.
Until tomorrow.
