SUPPORTING SCRIPTURE
Galatians 2:19–20 MSG A Scripture devotional can be so powerful, but where do we begin? Getting started reading the Bible is tricky… so we’ve compiled verse reflections like this one with a Bible verse for today to help us connect with God in everyday moments.
God’s Love Cannot Be Earned
Is there a part of you that’s tempted to believe if you do more good, or check the right boxes, you’ll earn more love—or at least a higher status in God’s eyes?
In this devo, as Hilary explores a passage in Galatians, she breaks down this tendency so many of us have, and reminds us that God’s love cannot be earned—it’s freely given.
Galatians 2:19–20 MSG
“What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn’t work. So I quit being a “law man” so that I could be God’s man. Christ’s life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him.”
Written by Hilary Frank
“If I do this, then God will be happy with me and love me more.” Have you ever thought that to yourself? Or perhaps it’s more subtle for you. When you go through your day, you find yourself doing things you think might increase your status in God’s eyes. I think that’s what it looks like for us to be what this passage refers to as a “law man.”
But when we give up being a “law man,” it frees us to be “God’s man” (or woman)—a person who knows that their identity as God’s beloved is secured by Jesus’s sacrifice.
We live in a generation of earning status. Our natural inclinations will try to convince us we have to earn Jesus’s love by checking off all of the boxes of being a “good” person. However, Jesus will never love us more or less because of our thoughts, words, or actions. He shows us how to live and love in the Bible. He offers to guide our steps each day. We must simply slow down to read, learn, develop, and pray.
Why It Matters
We don’t have to be perfect or have all of our ducks in a row to be loved by God. He doesn’t love us with a cautious love, but with a certain love simply because we are his. By studying the Word and seeing Jesus’s deep love for us, we can remember we don’t have to earn our relationship with God. In turn, we’ll become more like Jesus as we live and love.
Searching for another Bible verse with reflection? We have more simple devotions to connect with God in the ordinary, extraordinary, and everyday moments of life. Click here to check them out!