September 23

This morning, we are still reading in Gatatians. And in the second chapter, verse 2, we find The Apostle Paul writing these words...

"I went there because God revealed to me that I should go. While I was there I met privately with those considered to be leaders of the church and shared with them the message I had been preaching to the Gentiles. I wanted to make sure that we were in agreement, for fear that all my efforts had been wasted and I was running the race for nothing."

I like this verse because it reminds me of a phrase that is repeated in Ecclesiastes, "meaningless." Paul says in Galatians, "...for fear that all my efforts had been wasted and I was running the race for nothing." If you have ever been confounded by the word "meaningless" as you have read through Ecclesiastes or in some translations, "all is vanity" then consider this. This repeating theme in Ecclesiastes is not to be understood as "has no value" or "something that should never be done." Let me suggest another phrase you could insert every time you come to the word "meaningless" or phrase "all is vanity" when reading what can be a perplexing book in Scripture, insert "should not be a person's life defining purpose." Now we can begin to see that many of the pursuits mentioned in Ecclesiastes are not worthless, but rather the instruction of the most wise Solomon to not make the same mistakes that he made, to allow good things to become our main thing. The author Bruce Malina likes to use the phrase "project of existence." The most common enemy to our respective destinies is not failure but distraction.

What does this have to do with Galatians? We find The Apostle Paul submitting something Christian leaders he believed needed to have a voice in his life. Paul is not playing politics here, he is not catering to the needs of arrogant men, his actions are not perfunctory...he is laying out for us an essential Biblical principle by the example of his own life...if one wants to live a life chasing after distractions, live outside the influence of Christian leaders.

Who are the Peters, James, and Johns of your life? Who have you given the right to correct you? If you are looking for perfect leaders, you won't find them, just as the text addresses Peter's failings in Antioch. The imperfections of others must not be permission for us to live outside the realm of leadership relationships. I have people to whom I am submitted, people who have the authority to say no to me, to correct me. Not only do I realize that I will always have blind spots but equally important, I do not want to waste my life in pursuit of distractions when destiny awaits!

Who are your leaders?

Pastor Fred