Galatians 1:10

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ ~ Galatians 1:10


If there is one thing covid-19 has shown us, it is the need for other people. When we are cut off from them, we feel it strongly. We need touch, we need relationship, we need interaction, for all these strengthen us, encourage us, and help keep us centered. Without the people around us we flounder, we become depressed, we struggle with life. This is healthy interaction. God did not create us to be alone, but to be in community. It becomes unhealthy when we cannot think for ourselves, when every action we do is centered on what other people think about us, whether they accept us, and if we have met their expectations. Many people live in such a way. It becomes a burden, it is like a chain around the neck, for they do not, nor cannot be who they truly are. The Apostle Paul, before his Damascus Road revelation of Jesus Christ, was concerned only to receive the favour of the Pharisee’s, and to please them so as to improve his esteem in their eyes. Now he is saying his esteem comes from the Lord Jesus Christ and it is His will that concerns him, no matter what people think or believe about him. He is determined as before, but his objective is different, for now his purpose is to please God. It is a message for us as well. I still run into Christians who live in the trap of the esteem of others. It is a challenging vice to rid oneself of, but pleasing others for our self-esteem pleasure means that we compromise what Christ desires from us and for us. We are different from the world. Our aims and purposes must be unlike what the world thinks and believes. I know that sometimes God’s reward seems far away and distant. The truth is though that we are never truly happy if we follow what the world thinks and believes about us. We will face trials, and possibly persecutions when we do what Jesus desires from us, but it is the only way. To please Christ is our goal, and just like Paul, it does not matter what will happen to us when we do. That distant reward is there, and though right now it does not seem tangible, it is promised to us, for God is faithful.

Pastor Julia

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