Approved By God
Galatians 2:20
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Do you ever have that one person whose attention you really want to grab? Do you ever convince yourself you cannot grab their attention unless you act in ways you know you shouldn’t, or you stop being yourself? We’ve all done this where we think they will only want to be my friend, date me, talk to me, work with me, whatever it is, if I just change these few things about me. Often those things we change look like indulging in sin because we’re believing a lie that obedience to God will not satisfy us. There are numerous ways in which we seek to please sons of men instead of the Son of Man and recognizing that is the first step.
In Galatians 1 Paul reminds the churches of Galatia that there is no other gospel than this gospel recorded in scripture of Christ’s redemptive work. What a great reminder, but the purpose of him reminding them is to give them a question we all ought to ask ourselves that will show if we truly believe in this gospel. He asks, “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God?” As a reminder, this one true gospel is the good news that Christ became fully human on our behalf so that He might bear the weight of the sins of the world so that we broken and evil sinners may experience grace and forgiveness, being united with our Father in heaven. This is not just the part of the book when you realize what the whole point of the story was, like in Moana when we realize she was capable of all those adventures because she never gave up on herself. No, Paul is reminding us that this news is life-changing, and if it doesn’t change your life, you haven’t fully accepted it.
Paul matter-of-factly follows his question with the statement, “If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” This feels a little harsh because even as sure Christ-followers we find ourselves trying to please man, but there’s a difference between acting to please men and realizing your sin then seeking forgiveness, and living to please man. Sometimes we do the right things for the wrong reasons. Sometimes we deliberately go against what we know is right because we want to be loved and accepted by others. Sometimes we forsake the needs of those around us to seek our own advantages. Sometimes we dress, talk, joke, and act in ways we know go against scripture. Sometimes we listen to things, watch things, engage in things we know contradict how we are called to act because we want the approval of man. These are real, constant temptations as Christians, but there’s a real, constant Father who calls you to Himself when you fall into those and who sent His Son that you might be forgiven and united.
So remember Christ’s sacrifice and God’s grace to you when you find yourself making decisions for the approval or recognition of man. Ask yourself, “is the approval of man really so satisfying that it is worth ignoring what Christ did for me for momentary self-glorification?” Man is broken. Even the best partner, friend, parent who we love or look up to so much will let us down and cause us hurt. Man can never satisfy all our needs and the true joy and peace we seek can only be found through faith in Christ. Sometimes acting in obedience to God can result in insults, hardships, persecutions, etc., from the humans whose opinions of us we think so highly of. In these times it is important to remember that momentary afflictions prepare us for “an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
In what ways do you live for man? How might your life look different if you woke up everyday with the sole purpose of only living for the one who loves you so much He died for you? We cannot live to serve more than one thing, if our lives are dedicated to pleasing the imperfect beings around us, they cannot at the same time be dedicated to serving God. Galatians 2:20 summarizes this well in saying, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.”