JUST A LITTLE

One of China’s popular ‘hotpot’ restaurants (where people dip vegetables and meat into boiling broth) lost more than £170 million after a customer found a small rat in his dinner! The guy filmed a video of the dead rodent held above the bowl with his chopsticks. The video went viral and, unsurprisingly, the company’s reputation spiralled massively! Such huge damage—all from one tiny creature. In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he warned them to be serious about seemingly small things which could spoil the freedom Jesus had won for them. “Stand firm,” Paul said, telling them to reject anyone who said they needed to add religious rules or traditions to their relationship with Jesus (GALATIANS 5:1). The church may have found these rules familiar, and maybe even comforting— but allowing even the smallest ‘add-on’ in their Christian life would affect everything. A “little yeast works through the whole batch of dough,” Paul said (Galatians 5:9). Yeast is tiny, but even a sprinkle will make a whole batch of bread rise in the oven. Similarly, only a little sin, a little religious rule-keeping or a little self reliance, starts to change everything, dragging our focus away from Jesus and back onto ourselves.

We may well hear some teachers or church leaders suggesting we must earn God’s love or follow some kind of religious code in order to be His people. May God’s Spirit within us speak loud and clear and help us realise these things are lies. The truth is that our salvation is complete in Jesus. We have incredible, astonishing freedom: no rules, just new life with Him!

To pray about . . .

God, I’ve been letting false ideas, even small ones, spoil the freedom You’ve
given me. Help me to know and enjoy the fullness of life that Jesus has already
won for me

IT IS FOR FREEDOM THAT CHRIST HAS SET US FREE.
GALATIANS 5:1

YouTh Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries