Galatians 2:3-5
Bible Passage
It is great to have a mentor – a “coach,” someone who accompanies you through new and stressful situations, who doesn’t allow the wrong kind of people to shake your new-found faith. Because that was what Paul the Jew was to Titus the Greek convert. He wouldn’t allow “grace-killers” (people who made rule-following more important than living as those forgiven by Jesus’ underserved love) force their brand of legalism on someone brand new to the faith. When we move our attention from what Jesus did for us to religious practices we humans are used to doing, we undermine the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for our sins. We also endanger the freedom that that gospel has given us.
Who has been your mentor/defender, especially in your early faith-life? Who have you been a mentor/defender to? In what ways have you remained faithful to the “truth of the gospel”?
Prayer
Thank you Gracious God for the mentors in my life that have protected me from “grace-killers” and helped me keep my eyes on you alone. I love my own religious practices of worship, study, Holy Communion, but only because those practices draw me closer to you. However may they never replace the love that you first showed me when you came into my life – a love and freedom that keeps growing me as your child and in your service. Amen.
Song: Be My Defender (Jordan St. Cyr)
