II Corinthians 13 - Galatians 3

I love working with teenagers. The place they are in life is entirely contradictive – so pure and content with being a child, yet so fascinated by who they could be and usually willing to rebel to find out. It’s like popcorn and M&M’s or french fries dipped in milk shakes [don’t knock it ‘til you try it]. They don’t really belong together but the union of the two creates something so wrong that it’s right.

I am so intrigued by kids in this mixed-up state because of the potential for discovery of self, and more importantly the discovery of self’s deep need for God’s mercy. Teenagers are so prematurely thirsty for an education on life so that they can make decisions about what they believe, who they are, and their place in the world. Sometimes it’s scary [I know there are parents out there saying AMEN right now] that they have all this cerebral freedom to determine their own path, but such little experience with which to choose wisely for themselves. This internal ambiguity results in a spiritual struggle for most teens as they attempt to establish a personal faith in God. It is a classic picture of self vs. the Spirit. Sometimes it doesn’t even make it to the self-stage…the battle stays in that dreaded teenager dungeon of conformity to the crowd. Then it becomes pleasing men vs. gratifying the Spirit.

Unfortunately, it’s not quite as fascinating nor accepted when we continue to have the same “men vs. Spirit” struggle as adults [though it is the reality of our sinful condition]. I love the light that Galatians sheds on this eternal issue… “For do I now persuade men, or God? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.” It doesn’t get any simpler than that. Ya better choose. Pleasing men AND being a servant of God is not an option. Sometimes it works out that serving God is pleasing to men but Paul makes it clear that if you want to serve God you’re going to have to be o.k. with stepping on some toes.

Paul continues to tear down my misconceptions about needing to please man and indulge self, “For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

Paul pleads with us to give the law up. He tells us that when we believe we can just abide by the laws we are practicing self-righteousness and to embrace the full power of Christ’s death on the cross we must believe that our justification comes from HIM alone. I want to crumble onto the floor as I read that Christ died in vain if we believe righteousness comes from the law.
We are all probably pretty quick to say, “Of course we know that we are saved only by Christ’s death on the cross.” But do we live that way? Do we live like we are walking in the grace of God or do we live like we can earn it if we try harder or we’re just better. God so desires full access to us. Paul reminds me today that the goal is not ultimate goodness. The goal is not to sin the least or have the cleanest record but to daily renounce living for self and living to please men. God is glorified when we say in all our sinfulness, “It is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me.”


Jenna Trapasso
April 28