Daily Devotional • August 17
A Reading from Galatians 3:6-14
6 Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” 7 so, you see, those who believe are the descendants of Abraham. 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, declared the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the Gentiles shall be blessed in you.” 9 For this reason, those who believe are blessed with Abraham who believed.
10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the things written in the book of the law.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law; for “The one who is righteous will live by faith.” 12 But the law does not rest on faith; on the contrary, “Whoever does the works of the law will live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”— 14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Meditation
Growing up, when I was too sick to go to school, I would lie on the couch and watch television. One of the shows was The Price Is Right. I loved trying to guess prices on items, and people were so happy when their name was called; I wanted my name to be called! People would jump up and down and run down to the stage. Towards the end of the show, they offered big prizes, such as trips to Hawaii or a new car. The person had to decide between the prize they just saw or take a chance with what was behind another door. They had no idea what was behind door #2.
In our reading from Galatians today, we have a choice: the Law or the Gospel. Thankfully, we know that choosing the Gospel is far better than trying to depend on the Law. Relying on the Law leads to a curse for everyone (vs. 10). The Law cannot be fully obeyed unless you are Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus took on the Law and the curse for us. This gives us the freedom to follow by faith—“The one who is righteous will live by faith” (vs. 12). That is for us! We live by faith. Righteousness comes from Christ and what he accomplished for us on the cross and through the resurrection.
We see the idea of righteous living by faith in Habakkuk 2:4. This was written during a time when Israel was being devastated. Faith was the only way for them to have life. It is our only way, as well. Romans 1:16-17 says, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”
Faith is the ticket to the big prize. We walk by faith because of Christ Jesus. We joyfully give thanks and praise to the Lord that the promise of the Spirit has been poured out to us.
The Rev. Sara Oxley is the rector of The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Maitland, Florida.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Scottish Episcopal Church
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Murfreesboro, Tennessee
