Galatians 2

Bible Passage:  Galatians 2

Living by Faith in the Son of God

While reading today’s chapter, one verse particularly struck me:

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Gal 2:20)

Do we truly live by faith in Jesus Christ? Or do we feel confident we are saved because we attend every service, serve God actively, pray and read the Bible every day, keep the commandments, and show mercy and kindness towards others?

Maybe most of us don’t think this way because we know that we are still far away from God’s standard of perfection. I often feel very guilty and unworthy of God’s grace because I fall short of God’s requirements so very often. There was a time when I even felt that I should not partake of the Holy Communion and thought myself to be a hopeless case, waiting to be condemned because I kept repeating the same mistakes.

But thank God, later on the Lord allowed me to understand that there’s no hopeless case. For if I judge myself a hopeless case, I’m looking at it from the perspective: “I’m not good enough, therefore I cannot be saved.” But there is not a single person in this world who can ever be “good enough.” So, if I think I’m hopeless, I’m actually denying God’s salvation by grace through faith. Moreover, grace in itself is something that is given to us, although we don’t deserve it. With this understanding, I was able to stand up once again and to rely on God to overcome my weaknesses.

It is true that faith without works is dead. But while we strive to do the works God wants us to do, we must remember that we do them based on our faith that Jesus Christ is the only reason we can be saved. We live out the commandments and serve Him because the love of Christ compels us; not to collect bonus points that we can exchange for heaven.

This is why Paul wrote that he lived his life for Christ who loved him and gave Himself for him. So today, let us pray that our hearts will be continuously filled with the same conviction that motivated Paul to live his life by faith in the Son of God.