From the Shepherd’s Heart: Something worth celebrating

Published 11:30 am Thursday, October 24, 2019

“But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Galatians 6:14

Bragging is a common practice! It seems our value is rooted in our ability to outshine others. People have swallowed goldfish, jumped off high places, and performed foolish stunts so they can brag about what they have done. If nothing else, we wish to win the “Good Sportsmanship Award,” for being the best sport.

Bragging is a common practice spiritually, too! The tendency of man is to earn a right to be blessed or inherit some spiritual blessing. Every religion, except Christianity, encourages human attainments to earn spiritual blessings. People take vows of poverty, sacrifice their lives, suffer extreme suffering, dedicate to extensive rules, ride bicycles, send money to worthy endeavors, and travel far distances, all to earn the blessing promised.

While Christianity is a trust in God’s work, not our own, Christians can revert to the effort to perform so they can boast of their attainment as if that is something worthy of additional blessing. While a cup of water given in the name of Jesus will not go unrewarded, the eternal blessing that is worth celebrating thru eternity in not a product of the work of man, but of the sacrifice of Jesus.

The common mistake of the Galatians is one of us today. We have been told the wonderful news that Jesus is the perfect sacrifice to eliminate our sin and guarantee eternal life, but we allow the world who does not believe in Jesus influence us to join in striving for salvation thru our works. The Galatians fell back into a legalism to prove spirituality. They overlooked the frailty and inconsistency of sinners and accepted the misnomer that man can save himself. We may not celebrate our religion, but we can celebrate our relationship offered to us by God, himself.

Paul reminded them, and us, that the only action one can boast about in eternity is the work of Jesus for us on the cross. At the cross, He took upon himself the sin of us all. He swapped His righteousness for our sinfulness. It is as if we swapped clothes where we gave Jesus our filthy rags and He gave us beautiful robes of righteousness.

The next time someone wishes to evaluate virtue by discussing rituals or rule, point to the only celebration that will last. Celebrate that God has covered our inability to live perfect lives with the perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Join Paul in saying, “Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” That is really the only thing we can celebrate that will last forever!

Dr. John Temple is chaplain of the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office. From the Shepherd’s Heart is published Fridays in The Meridian Star.