Begin with two minutes of silence and stillness before God.
This was a tough chapter for me. A lot of discussion about the Law, which I, through God’s redemption, think little about. Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law…” That is some great news, my friend.
Paul, not wasting any time to pick a fight, begins to remind everyone that God is not a respecter of persons. He does not have a different standard for Jews and Gentiles. It does not matter how much you know. It does matter to Him what you do with what you know. If we could get by with just head knowledge, then I could be playing for the Braves instead of sitting at home watching them. But I can’t hit a 95 mph fastball. Not even with a tennis racket. I know how; I can talk about it, but it is not going to happen. Paul reminds us that God expects us to bear witness to Him by being doers of what we have in our heads and hearts.
Paul continues then to speak directly to the Jews. He reprimands them for speaking against certain sins and judging others when they are in fact guilty of the same. Verse 24 is painful and makes me check my actions on a regular basis. “For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles (in my case, unbelievers or fence-straddlers) because of you.” It hurts to think that my actions cause others to not think well about God. I wish I could say, “not guilty,” but I certainly am. I know I have done things and said things only to walk away and go, “Wow, was that really a good representation of who I claim to be?” For me, that usually comes in the form of a yucky gut feeling that will not go away. And even hours later, I will be thinking, “What is making me feel this way? Oh, hello Holy Spirit. Got that one wrong, huh? Need to apologize, you say?” It's not part of this scripture, but can I just say that some of the most memorable moments in my life, scenes from my childhood that are forever etched in my memory, were friends/family apologizing to me. It makes a huge impact. Be a doer.
Take two minutes to reflect in silence.