What does God want from us?
Oct 18, 2011
The Race for Grace - part nineteen in a study of the book of Galatians
By Mike Gaudet
What does God want from us?
He wants us to love one another.
How can we do what God wants us to do?
“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” Galatians 5:13-15
While Paul remained in Galatia, growing belief in God’s unconditional love had promoted burgeoning spiritual health among the new believers there. As their confidence in connecting with God increased their love in connecting with one another increased.
When Paul left to proclaim “the good news” of the gospel elsewhere, other Bible teachers arrived proclaiming a different gospel which placed conditions on God’s love. The impact of believing this “not-so-good-news” was devastating. The Galatian Christians began “biting and devouring one another” and were in danger of being “destroyed by each other.”
Imagine that you were charged with the responsibility of writing a letter to these Christians whose lack of love had become increasingly evident. Things are getting vicious, ugly. What would you write to them?
This is the problem that Paul confronted in dealing with the Christians in Galatia . . . and here are the first three commands he issues in his letter to them:
“Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham.” Galatians 3:7
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1
“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” Galatians 5:13
We might have expected Paul to lead off with the command to love one another and then follow it up with stirring stories of love at work. Or we might have expected him to use a “Jesus-died-for-you-shame-on-you-for-being-selfish” approach to motivate less selfish behavior. Paul steers away from both of these approaches because he perceived that lack of love was the fruit of the problem, not the root of the problem.
Paul understood that the caustic, corrosive nature of their relationships was merely a symptom of a deeper spiritual disease. Their confidence in approaching God fueled their love for one another. When they lost sight of God’s unconditional love their ability to love one another evaporated. They “ran out of gas” spiritually.
It’s hard for us to love one another for the same reason!
It’s easy for us to believe that when we do what God wants, He loves us and that when we fail to do what He wants, He doesn’t. It’s hard for us to believe that God operates by grace . . . that His acceptance is an unearned gift rather than an earned reward.
It’s easy for us to believe that God’s love is conditional. It’s hard for us to believe that God ‘s love is unconditional.
Paul understood that when it comes to Christian love, the divine sequence is, “liberty, then love.”
Once the Galatians reverted back to relating to God as “Master” rather than as “Father” the power to love one another had disappeared. This is why he commands them to “Understand” that believing makes them children of God, not behaving. This is why he commands them to “Stand firm” against those who would pull them back into relating to God as a slave relates to a master.
In order to restore the love they had expressed horizontally, Paul understood that they would need to restore the liberty they had experienced vertically. Restoring liberty would be the key to restoring love.
It’s important for us to remember that we’re “called to be free” because spiritual “freedom” opens the door to Christian love.
God prioritizes love. “The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Our love for one another is an echo of God’s love for us.
We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19