This message is from Sister Nicky, one of the students from Grace International School of Ministry.

 

Key Verses: Book of Ruth and Galatians

What do I mean by called to be better? We live in a society where there are rules and regulations and codes of practice for everything we do. There are also unspoken standards that we keep in order to be socially acceptable. Consider what Jesus said in Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” As Christians we are saved by grace and our standards are higher. The world is not getting any better, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t be better. It is not just for show like the Pharisees. Being “better” is about the condition of our hearts and the way that we live our everyday lives. One of my favourite quotes is by John Wooden “The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.”

Four points from Ruth and Galatians:

1. The extraordinary ordinary

The book of Ruth is about three quite ordinary people, Ruth, Naomi and Boaz. However the little things they did changed the course of history. After she was widowed, Ruth chose to stay with Naomi, her mother-in-law, out of love even though it meant moving to a land she did not know and risked going into a life of destitution. When the two women reached Judah, Ruth would glean grain from the field belonging to Boaz. It was law to allow the needy to glean grain from the fields. Boaz went further by ensuring Ruth was looked after by his workers and purposely dropped more grain, so she had more to glean. In doing this Boaz not only fulfilled the law but he showed generosity, kindness and consideration. Ruth, Naomi and Boaz led simple lives but were loving, kind and generous beyond what was expected of them. They were lights in the community.

Ruth and Boaz went on to become the great-grandparents of King David and therefore were ancestors of our Lord Jesus Christ. Living ordinary lives but being better than expected meant that they became extraordinary.

We too can be extraordinary by being better than what is expected of us. Who knows who our descendants will be or who we can be a light to by living ordinarily but becoming extraordinary just by choosing to be better than what is expected. Really how ordinary can we be if we are children of God?

 

2. Live life as an act of worship

Everything we do should be pleasing to God. In Paul’s letter to the Galatians he was worried for them because so soon after they received the gospel it looks like they were going to lose sight of what was the most important part, Jesus died so that we can be freed from the curse of sin. But there were people preaching to the Galatians that they needed to follow the Jewish laws in order to follow Christ. (Galatians 3:10-14). I think the Galatians fell into the trap of believing that they needed to follow the law, because they needed a guide for godly living.

How do you live your life as an act of worship, without knowing what pleases God? Paul gives a lot of directions in Galatians chapter 5 onwards. I’ve chosen two passages I think sums it up pretty well:

Galatians 5:13-14 “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’” This passage talks about the freedom that we have as Christians. To non-believers and even new Christians, Christianity might seem restrictive, they are all goody two shoes, who have to behave, dress, walk and talk a certain way or fear the fires of hell. This passage clearly shows that this is not the case. The world’s idea of freedom is the freedom to be bad. This verse shows that for Christians, freedom means we are free to do what is good. We are free to love and free to serve one another.

Galatians 6:10 “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” We should do what is good whenever we have the chance. These don’t have to be huge gestures, just little things that make someone’s day or simply because it pleases God. You might not be doing these things for people to see, but it doesn’t mean that other people might not see your one small act. That one small act of goodness might be what inspires them to seek after Jesus. Jesus died so we can be freed us from the bondage of sin. This freedom is our call to be better and to want to be better than who we were before.

 

3. Grow those fruits

As Christians we already have the means to live the way that is better. Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Like natural fruit we need to nurture and feed these fruit so they become big and strong. There are nine fruits and I have been told the one you have most trouble remembering is the one you need to work on the most. Galatians 5 also tells us how we should grow these fruit and that is to walk in the Spirit. Let the Holy Spirit lead us and be our guide.

 

4. Jesus, our role model

Besides being our Saviour, the way Jesus lived His life should be a model for our own. In every way Jesus was better. He didn’t just share with and heal the people He liked, He included everyone even society’s undesirables. He sees past the things that are just for show and sees through to what is real.

Matthew 14:13-21 “The Feeding of the 5,000” shows how human Jesus is and how much He cares for His people. Jesus had just heard of the death of John the Baptist. He was grieving and went to a deserted place, which didn’t stay deserted. Jesus went out and He saw a great multitude. It is so human to grieve and mourn when someone important to us is taken away. Jesus was so moved with compassion for the multitudes that He healed their sick and provided food for all of them. He didn’t tell them to go away, even though He was grieving. Jesus is not just a supreme being. He became a living, breathing example of what we should follow.

 

We are called to be better even if we are just ordinary, we have been given the freedom to do what is better through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have the means because we have the fruits of the Spirit, and we have the perfect role model in Jesus Christ.

 

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If you would like to accept Jesus into your heart please pray the following prayer.
“Dear God, I am a sinner and need forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ shed His precious blood and died for my sin. I am willing to turn from sin. I now invite Christ to come into my heart and life as my personal Saviour.”

If you have just prayed this prayer and accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, congratulations! We invite you to contact us as we would love to pray a blessing over your life and help guide you on your journey.

The next step. As a way to grow closer to Him, the Bible tells us to follow up on our commitment.

• Get baptised as commanded by Christ.
• Tell someone else about your new faith in Christ.
• Spend time with God each day. It does not have to be a long period of time. Just develop the daily habit of praying to Him and reading His Word. Ask God to increase your faith and your understanding of the Bible.
• Seek fellowship with other followers of Jesus. Develop a group of believing friends to answer your questions and support you.
• Find a local church where you can worship God.

God bless you.