Doing Good

 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.    Galatians 6:9

I'm still stuck on the teaching from CBS yesterday.  This was another verse our teaching leader, Jan Henderson, put a spin on that I had never thought about before.  Her argument was that in Galatians Paul was hammering away at the new believers to walk in the Spirit, to let their abiding in the Spirit be the sign on their salvation, rather than any outward custom or ritual, particularly circumcision.  And that when Paul gets to the end of his letter and appears to be changing tacks, focusing more on practical applications, he actually is not at all!  He is still pushing just the pure, walking in the Spirit.

Even in this verse, she argues, Paul is actually speaking of the good we do as being our continuing to walk in the Spirit.  After all, even Jesus, when asked what good deed would gain a man entrance into heaven, responded by turning the question around over the meaning of the word "good":

And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good.”  Matthew 19:16-17 

What can we do that is good?  Anything I think I'm doing for God is as a filthy garment, right?

For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;   Isaiah 64:6

The only thing I can do that pleases God is to remain connected with Him by walking in His Spirit and abiding in His Word.  As long as I am a part of Him, I am good, because only He is good.

Let us not grow weary of doing good?  Let us not weary of walking in Him.  Stay connected, moment by moment.

And do not give up!  Paul ends the verse by saying do not give up!  Doesn't that suggest that sometimes it will be hard, even hard to stay connected?  I think it does, and that encourages me, because life day-to-day is emotionally taxing.  It's hard to live with sinners!  And it's tempting to fall back into old habits to console myself when the emotional seas begin to pitch and roll.  But God says keep connected to Me (do not weary of doing good), do not give up, and you will reap a harvest.

Thank You, Lord.