Galatians 2:20-21 "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (21) I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."
"The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of
God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." I read these two verses
and receive so much comfort and encouragement from them. Though they speak of
the present time, I can see there was a "then and a when" in my
life. By that, I mean there was a time when I was a stranger without
Christ in my life. I can honestly say that I cannot remember a time when I did
not love God, but at that time the love was only in my mind. I heard about God.
I believed there was a God, but I'm not sure at that point that I believed He
actually did anything in my life. That was when, as Paul wrote in Ephesians, I
was a stranger "from the covenants of promise and had no hope." As I
think back, when that was the situation, I didn't have any thoughts as to
whether I needed hope or not. That was the "when" in my life.
But "then" God began to deal with me and show me my state of
sinfulness. It was at that time that He showed me my need for a Saviour because
I knew there was nothing better that I could do. I was made to realize that I
already had that perfect Saviour, after God showed me that my sins had been
"crucified with Christ". Yes, Jesus died for my sins and hope
was made alive within me because He made the offering to God that brought my
life in Christ Jesus into being. It was then that I was made to rejoice because
I could see the difference in my everyday "life which I now live in the flesh"
was brought about by "the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave
Himself for me." When God revealed this to me, it was then that
peace and joy pervaded my very being.
Because these great truths made such a difference in Paul, it seems he could not
understand the wavering of those such as Peter and John Mark . May we also
realize what a great difference the grace of God has made in our lives as well.
We aren't finished with these two verses because I want to digest each
part.