Saturday after Quinquagesima
Posted on April 17, 2021 by under
Scripture: Galatians 3:23-29 (NKJV)
3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Devotion
The Law of Moses served a hard purpose. St. Paul says, “the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father” (Gal. 4:1-2). The strict education of the Law teaches the holy will of the Father, but it also teaches something more. While the Law does not preach Christ’s forgiveness, it does point to Christ. A true understanding of Moses points people to the realization that, because of their sins, they cannot fulfill the Law of Moses. They need to be delivered from their sins so that they can inherit the blessings of their heavenly Father.
In Christ we find that deliverance. In Christ we find our adoption as the children of God. And in Christ we find the inheritance that we have desired. “You are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (Gal. 4:7). To make us His sons, God gave us His Son—a true Child of Israel who would fulfill the Law of Moses, endure its curse, and earn for us its blessings. May the Spirit of this Son always cry out within us, “Abba, Father!”
Prayer: Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we who have celebrated the solemnities of the Lord’s resurrection may, by the help of Thy grace, bring forth the fruits thereof in our life and conversation; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
