Connect360: Do Good

• Lesson 13 in the Connect360 unit “A Cry for Freedom: Grace That Is Still Amazing” focuses on Galatians 6:11-18.

One of the things I frequently tell my students is, “Good leaders won’t ask you to do anything they aren’t willing to do themselves.”

We can observe this principle, first of all, with Jesus. Jesus asks us to bear a cross (Luke 9:23), and Christ literally bore a cross. Jesus asks us to pray for our enemies, and Christ prayed over the men who crucified him (Luke 23:34). We could do this with every command; Jesus never asks us to do something he did not model in his own life.

Paul, too, led by example. He didn’t invite the Galatians to do anything he hadn’t done himself. Paul asked us not to make church a beauty pageant, and in verse 11 he made fun of his own sloppy handwriting because he didn’t care what people thought of him. He asked us not to make decisions simply to avoid persecution or criticism, and in verse 17 he reminded us he had scars and wounds on his body from the literal beatings he took at the hands of those who persecuted him for his faith.

Yet, despite the pain he had endured, Paul concluded his letter to the churches in Galatia with a kind and gentle benediction of grace for the individual Christians in the congregation (6:18). He knows the grace of God isn’t only what saves us from sin, but what sustains us through the ups and downs of life.

I’ve studied the Bible with people who perceive Paul as mean, prideful or painfully obtuse. I understand why people read Paul that way, but this passage reminds me Paul loved people deeply. He cared well for this congregation.

 In a world where it is easy to be fake, Paul was real. He said what he thought, and he lived the Christian life to back it up. His faithfulness to Jesus cost him his former life as a Pharisee, and then led to physical pain and hardship. But he continued in good works until the day he finally died for his faith.

Paul would be the first to tell you that he wasn’t perfect (1 Timothy 1:15), that he was a sinner in the same boat as all of us. But he gave his entire life to the advancement of the gospel and the service of the church. That’s a powerful legacy, and it’s one that should inspire us to do the same.

We have a mandate to love and bless all people, regardless how it might hurt our reputation. But take heart—God created you to do good works and will equip you to overcome any obstacles that may come along the way. Stay true to the path. Our good works and love of others are how we see Christ’s kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10) come to fruition.

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