Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forevermore.
While I was sitting on a covered porch, the grass had just been mowed, a thunderstorm broke over the area. Buckets of rain came down, I noticed the grass as it raveled over the porch. The blades that remained on top of the tile would get stuck and not move; the blades of grass that were in the low groove of the grout moved very quickly across the porch and back into the yard. Taking the lower (humble) path moves you to your goal quickly.
Pandemic, riots, different views not tolerated, wars…quite a difficult time to be alive! So was Paul’s day, how did he manage to remain on top of it and not get dragged down…can we do the same?
This passage carries one of the secrets to that! The natural thing to do when we are confronted by things we do not like is to take control. You would think that would be good and right…except we need to make sure what nature is controlling that “natural thing”! For me, it is really easy to allow the sin nature to be what is driving the “natural thing”.
The “natural” thing to do for we humans is to “muscle” our way through, flex our pride, and demand our rights. That is exactly what the enemy and the flesh desire. It is also why evil in this world is so powerful. Actions driven by what comes natural for us in a fallen world is self-centered, self-absorbed, and selfish! It may save the individual from what they do not want to go through, but it will be at the expense of everyone and everything else! Believe me, I have experienced this often as my selfish sin nature protects what I want, leaving me with the regret of the insult I have done to my Lord and the damage I have inflicted on others.
One of the keys to proper actions is subtly seen in this passage – Humility. Yielding to God’s way to deal with things goes against the “natural” – we will see this all through Galatians – but brings the true victory! Triumphing over evil is not accomplished by muscle or willpower raising yourself up to overcome, instead of yielding and becoming low, depending and trusting on a Power outside of yourself. Like the grass in my illustration, swift movement through difficult times happens in a valley…in our case…the valley of selflessness.
Notice the Holy Spirit’s and Paul’s approach. As God is brought into the greeting only the Father and Son are mentioned. Isn’t the Holy Spirit God? Yes, but as is so often He does not highlight Himself, even though we know He inspired the writers of the Scriptures. This is an oxymoron… but God is the most humble person in the universe! Paul also expresses this quality…his call is not his, everything he is because God called him to “be”, not “do” that! Being is essential and the by-product of true humility. Also, Paul includes his co-laborers, he takes the spotlight off of himself. We are the ones that make him the “great Apostle” not him! He was great, no man has taught me more than other than Christ, but he did not exalt himself. How different from the “leaders” we see in this world…sadly including many of the superstars of Christendom today. It is a wonder that much of the “Church” cannot be seen as different from the world?
Luke 1:52 “He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble.
1 Peter 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,
The So What: How do you behave when you don’t get your way? Do you feel overwhelmed? Why? What are you doing about that? How does the evil in the world affect you? What are you doing about that?
