“But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14).
Dear Heavenly Father, hallowed be Your Name. We bring nothing in our hand, because we have nothing that is worthy of You; but we offer You our hearts, and ask that You sit upon its throne, and rule as Lord and Savior of our lives. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ we pray! Amen.
For a few days we were following the conversion of Saul, the legalistic Pharisee, as he was being transformed into Paul, the Preacher of salvation by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ! I believe that our verse for today speaks powerfully of the heart change that Paul experienced in this journey.
Looking over his life, and considering all that he had suffered for the sake of the Gospel, Paul had once recounted his sufferings with pride:
“[I]n labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—” (2 Corinthians 11:23-27).
But now Paul no longer wears his afflictions as a badge of distinction, or considers them a reason to boast (according to the world); for they were in no way comparable to the glory he had discovered in the cross of Christ! He had arrived at a truth that would turn the world upside down, a truth that would change the lives of people from every walk of life, including his! A truth that would create a community of faith whose Mission Statement would be, to “do justly, love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).
The cross, once an instrument of death, shame, and disgrace – made anyone who hung upon it become a curse. But one blessed Friday, on Golgotha, the King of kings, hung upon a wooden cross and converted it forever, into a symbol of salvation – the Christian’s only hope of eternal life!
Life would never be the same for Paul. No boasting except in the cross of Christ had become his motto. His life would take a new direction. He had become a new creation. “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21) characterized his new way of life .
He had surrendered his life to Christ and His cause. The cross of Christ would remind him to die daily to self, so that Christ might live within him. As we said in Tuesday’s devotional, he would decrease so that Christ could increase, and Paul’s only glory would be in the cross of Christ his Lord!
Note: Some corrections have been made to this devotional.