Galatians 6:7-10 (NLT)
Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.
Yesterday, we talked about the scars we carry with us on a daily basis. We also talked about how God has made a way for us to overcome these things. He gives us a choice: We can either live only to satisfy our sinful nature or we can live to please the spirit.
Now, even though we would all agree that the outcome of living to please the Spirit far surpasses the outcome of living to satisfy ourselves, we still struggle with putting this choice into action.
Jesus spoke numerous times of laying down our lives for others and carrying our cross. Sacrificing our own desires for the good of those around us. Loving him so much that our love for anything else looks like hate in comparison. He even spoke of us eating his flesh and drinking his blood. These are tough things to hear. Jesus would teach multitudes of people about the cost of following him and would turn a 5,000 person event into a dozen men sitting on a hill wondering what just happened.
Because of this, Paul knew that we would struggle (as I’m sure he had). He knew that our first impulse would be to run away. He knew that because his first impulse must have been to run away as well. But he also saw the entire picture and not just part. He knew that though the cost in this life would be great, the reward in the life to come would be greater.
We’ll continue this conversation tomorrow.
