Our scripture this morning is Galatians 5:14-16 (NLT).
For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another. So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.
Christian author Mark Norton writes “When we lose the motivation of love, we become critical of others. We stop looking for the good in them and see only their faults. Soon we lose our unity.” While this may sound like our current situation, Paul wrote to warn the church at Galatia of just this human problem nearly two thousand years ago.This is Christ’s command to us, second only to our duty to love God. When we disobey this, we are turning away from our connection to Him.
Jesus faced criticism and disagreement, and much more hate than we are ever likely to encounter, but He never stopped loving, forgiving even those who crucified Him (Luke 23:34). This is His example for us, that our love for God and our obedience must outweigh any human situation or reaction.
Paul reminds us if we let the Holy Spirit guide our lives, we can be protected from “what your sinful nature craves.” Jesus promised us His presence through “another Comforter” (John 14:15-17) and that we would be strengthened to go in His name (Acts 1:8). If we rely on His word, rather than our own selfish desires, we can bring the Good News to everyone.
Loving Lord, we are sorry for the times we have let words and events interfere with Your instruction to love one another. May we let Your Spirit guard and guide us when we are tempted to react with anger rather than love. Amen.
