Boast only in the Cross

Gal. 6:14

But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 

Paul's exemplifies the life that all Christians should lead. He could say he truly only boasted in the cross because it had transformed and revolutionized his life. From salvation on, he lived only for one person and one purpose, Jesus Christ and the claims that He had placed on Paul's life. Paul understood the true significance of the cross and its life-changing claims. He wanted to be all in, and he was all in. I wonder how many Christians could say truthfully that this was their lifestyle and their priorities. How would this even look in our culture? I am pretty sure not how most of us are living it. This life is not one where we have little time with God each day and less time to pray. It is not when going to church is optional or fellowship with the saints is not longed for or looked forward to. It is where Jesus is all in concerning friends, focus, work, possessions, and fellowship. It is not seen in how loosely we grasp the world and its possessions but do we grasp the world at all?

He knew that one of the effects of buying into the cross was having the world crucified to himself. He no longer longed for, cared for, or sought after the world. It was dead to him, and he to it! He had understood completely that circumcision or circumcision meant nothing: law or freedom. Paul was all about grace, a new creation. He urged the Galatians to drop off these faulty thinking patterns and boast only in the cross, not in religious forms or worldly recognition, wealth, or possessions, but only in Christ. 

Father,

I love Jesus who died on the cross and brought me new life, made me a new creation. What a gift You have given me. Teach me how to live like Paul did with You as my focus and with the world unimportant. 

In Jesus name,

Amen