Are We So Foolish?

Verse of the day: Galatians 3:3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

How did any of us become born again Christians? Was it by anything we did? Was it by some glorious work that impressed God so much that He just had to allow us to become part of His family? According to what I have found in His Word so far, I would have to say...no. The truth of the matter is that we all became born again believers, by faith, by the will of God; and we were justified (declared not guilty) by the righteousness of Jesus applied to us (and not our own righteousness). The Bible even goes so far as to say that our works of righteousness are like filthy rags to God (Book of Isaiah). So, let me ask you a question. If this is so, and it is, then why do we put so much weight on our works, after being saved by faith, when it comes to pleasing God, and trying to stay in His good graces? This is what the Apostle Paul was trying to help the Christians at Galatia understand. They had become Christians by putting their faith in the finished work of Christ; yet, others had come along, and convinced them, that along with their faith, they had to be circumcised. Sadly, this still happens today. Too many Christians have enslaved themselves again, after being made free by Christ. Too many have allowed themselves to be convinced that they must keep a certain set of rituals in order to continue enjoying God's favor. How can any of us gain God's favor via a method or ritual God sees as filthy rags. The only thing we do when we fall into that trap is give Satan, and his minions, ammunition to fuel our guilt when we fall short. In the end, the very system we set up is the very system that enslaves us, breaks us, and causes us to shy away from God. Our Father already showed us how much we fall short by the use of His Law. He then provided us a Way, Jesus, to be reconciled to Him. He even took a step further to remind us, in the Book of Hebrews, that the ONLY way to please Him is by faith. What does that mean or look like. It means that every good work we perform, as born again believers, should come from a heart of gratitude, and trust, knowing that we have gained all the favor we will ever have, because of, and in, Jesus. What it looks like is this; we have $1 to our name. God presents us with an opportunity to give that dollar to someone else in need. We give them the dollar. Now, if we gave the dollar because we were trying to gain more favor with God or show everyone what a good Christian we are or boost our own religious pride...then we missed the mark. However, if we give the dollar because we have faith that God will take care of our need, and we simply want to be obedient, and show the love of Christ, not expecting anything in return, and seeking only to bring God glory, and seek an opportunity to share Jesus with that person (regardless of whether or not we get another dollar back ourselves)...bingo! We have hit the mark! You see, there is a certain freedom in knowing that I am free to do good, because God will always take care of me, because He is good. There is a certain freedom in serving God, by faith, knowing that I am accepted by what Jesus did, and not by whether or not I did something to deserve it. Let our faith, and gratitude, fuel how we live for God, not religious rituals that only fuel our pride, and sense of self importance. Let the love of Jesus move us to serve Him, and others, expecting nothing in return, except glory for the One who deserves it all...our Lord, our Savior, our God.