“Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.” Galatians 6:15
The conflicts on junior high playgrounds don’t differ too much from when I was a kid. “No, no… it didn’t count!” “What? There’s no rule about that!!” And the commotion begins…
Paul discussed rules in his letter to the Galatians and concluded: “Here’s what counts – you are a new creation… and this only happens because of what God has done through Jesus Christ.”
Jesus is the best at breaking things down to what is most important. People, especially religious people, sometimes take what they think they know about God and His ways to justify actions and high opinions of themselves. Jesus is never fooled.
Religious man: “I follow the Ten Commandments. I tithe and worship properly and live a respectable life in society.”
Jesus: “Here’s what counts with God – your heart. Many do not commit murder, but My Father sees the anger in their hearts and knows the problem. Many never commit adultery, but My Father sees immense damage from lust of the heart. Many give offerings according to the law, but My Father sees whether a person is truly generous. He knows each heart and He knows a man’s true treasure.”
Religious man: “But look at all the sinners! I am so much better than they. You associate with people that have no place in God’s house.”
Jesus: “So you know the heart of another? The way you judge your fellow man counts a lot… that’s the way you will be judged. As you think you are better than someone else, My Father may see that person closer to the Kingdom than you are. Many sinners are finding the Way to eternal life.”
Religious man: “But I know the Scripture. I know I am a part of God’s chosen people. How can you say that sinners are finding a way to life?”
Jesus: “Let Me tell you what counts… I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. You study and search the Scriptures, but yet you miss Me. Those that find Me find the Way. And this is eternal life: to know God the Father and the Son He has sent to save the world.”
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray; one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14
“He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural decent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” John 1:12-13