Faith expressed in Love

Galatians 5:6 For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love.

Here we are finally in the New Testament and back to Eugene Peterson's vigorous translation, The Message. Since we are going through the Bible roughly in the order it was written, however, we are not starting with the Gospels, but with Paul's letters, which were the first Christian documents circulated. Galatians is understood to be the oldest.

Paul is telling us what freedom in Christ means. It doesn't mean doing whatever we want, licentiousness or seeking only our own pleasure, but it's not about the rules either. Rules can only affect our outward behavior, but faith in Christ changes us from within. This faith, expressed in love, then guides our actions, transforms our desires so that at times we joyfullly follow the rules as the best way to express that faith-love, and at times we break them to serve that same expression. It's no longer about the rules at all! We are driven by true freedom, a freedom to love extravagantly all whom we meet, a freedom that brings joy, serenity, loving compassion

Paul compares the results to the fruit of a well-tended tree (5:22), gifts that are the natural result of living a faith filled life. He also describes the dangers of a self-filled life (5:19-20) which in Eugene Peterson's vivid contemporary language sounds like a list of all the ills society now struggles with. In fact, he describes this life of "trying to get your own way all the time" (5:19) as a sort of compulsion, an addiction that wants more and more of whatever it is --- sex, food, drink, money or material goods -- compulsively, because these are not what is ultimately satisfying. The life of the spirit, lived in the freedom of Chirst, begets a life of peace, serenity and joy, precisely because it satisfies our deepest needs as human beings.

My son says -- he's 22 -- that in fact, it is therefore a selfish choice to follow Jesus, becuase it really is in my own best interest, and I would have to agree. It is the ultimate selfishness to live a faithful life, filled with joy and peace and community, but paradoxically, we achieve it by withdrawing from self-interest and pursuits of the fulfillment of our material appetities. It says in the prayer book about Jesus, "His service is perfect freedom." That is the central paradox of Christianity: submit to Christ and find true freedom. There's a Rumi ppoem that describes this paradox as a cool fountain on one side and a pit of fire on the other. Those who go into the fountain, find themselves inthe fire and vice versa. If we try to avoid what is difficult, surrender ourselves to rules and externals, even a person or leader, we only find ourselves in more difficulty. Of such leaders, Paul says, "They want to shut you out of the free world of God's grace, so that you will always depend on them for approval and direction, making them feel important." (4:17) All such submission is slavery and contrary to Christ's call.

Christ has set us free. Live life as a glorious dance with Spirit, faith expressed as love. By blessing others with our care and service, we send out waves of love that touch lives we don't even know about in a never ending cycle of love and compassion, bringing about the Kingdom of God right here on earth.

Prayer: Dear God, I am earnestly seeking my role in the establishment of Your Kingdom on earth. Guide me to that unique expression for which you have called me and teach me to surrender all that I am to that vision when I have found it. Amen.