Galatians I
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. (Galatians 3:1 ESV)
Forgetting
The foolish Galatian Christians were not silly idiots. They were only foolish because they forgot God’s Way. A fool is simply (and painfully) anyone who chooses any path other than God’s path.
The Gospel itself, salvation by Grace, does not seem to make sense. We do not encounter grace and mercy, unconditional, in the world. We humans are surprised when we hear, no matter how many times we have heard it before, that God forgives. He does not forgive because we deserve it, He forgives because He loves.
And that surprises us. And so we forget.
This last week, I remembered an old way to prepare a Roast Turkey. A bit (not too much) of extra moisture, despite the recipe, goes a long way to keep the Turkey moist.
It surprises me… it does not make sense… and so I forget. I was a foolish cook for a couple of years. My forgetfulness bewitched me.
And then I remembered.
In a similar way, Christians get to remember that God saves by GRACE, not works. He saves by GRACE, not our righteousness. He saves by GRACE, not our personality, reliability, niceness, cleverness, obedience, Word-attention, or humility.
Forgetting that, and trying to impress God by our works even after we are saved, is foolishness.
Be wise, instead.