Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Welcome to today’s Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation covering Galatians 1:3-5 wherein we see a greeting from Paul that leads us to God glorification.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ who gave Himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
There are those passages in Scripture where God shows Himself to be all in all, reminding us that life separate from Him is a sad and desperate one and that without our aim being His glory, we stand opposed to all that He is working toward. This is one such passage. Note first the greeting: Paul’s desire was toward their having grace and peace of no sort other than the very same that comes from the heavenly Father and Son. There is not another who can provide grace and peace as our God does, and so Paul does not consider even himself truly able to dispense it apart from the divine source. In a world of brokenness and sorrow, of frustrations and unrest, such blessings fall sweetly upon the church and make for a welcoming greeting.
The salutation comes also from the Lord Jesus Christ who makes it so that we can even have the grace and peace previously mentioned. This Savior gave all that could possibly be given in the presentation of Himself for all our sins, sins which had us trapped in a place of darkness, the present evil age. This world as it now stands is wrought with wickedness of which we are a part, have participated in to varying degrees, and cannot escape apart from forgiveness and an imputed righteousness. Jesus makes both of these available. He does this in cooperation with the Father who willed the death, resurrection, and consequences from these. And so, we see here that there is ample willingness within the Trinity to make our grace and peace available. We have all experienced the kind of unity that one can have with a close friend or family member, where we know that we desire the same things and in the same manner even though our responsibilities in making certain things come about may vary. Similar here, although exceedingly amplified, is the kind of cooperation we see between the Father and Son.
And then we observe the result of this partnership that works out so much for our good: the glory of the Father. From square one, such has been the aim, this eternal glorification of the Sovereign. Would that we kept this as our great focus! Concerning our happiness, productivity, and clear-sightedness, there would be an increase unmatched by any other pleasure. So much can be gained and simplified by living for the glory of God, and yet we are so delayed in practicing it. This can be the hour for a great shift into such a holy pursuit.
Last 5 posts by Seth
- Matthew 28:18-20--Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation - April 24th, 2010
- Matthew 27:20-23--Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation - April 23rd, 2010
- Matthew 26:30-33--Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation - April 22nd, 2010
- Matthew 25:29-30--Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation - April 21st, 2010
- Matthew 24:3-5--Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation - April 20th, 2010
