His Treasure Within You

 

 

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 

—1 Corinthians 4:7-10 (NKJV)

 

 

The love of God has given us the greatest treasure. Another way of defining the treasure we have been given is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). Paul was speaking of our lives being joined with Christ (1 Corinthians 6:17) and all the benefits it affords. This truly is a treasure, far beyond anything this earth or any man can give us. This treasure was purchased with the precious blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19).

 

The earthen vessels that Paul speaks of are our physical bodies. 2 Corinthians 4:7 compares the worthlessness of our bodies to the matchless value of Christ in us. Our bodies are like clay pots that contain the precious treasure of Christ. Paul says hard times and things might come against us but they can’t destroy the treasure of His grace within us. 

 

In 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, Paul wasn’t saying God was the source of these troubles. He wasn’t saying the Lord was performing some kind of redemptive work using these problems. Paul was only listing things that are shared by everyone. But he also showed how God’s power makes us more than conquerors in every difficulty (Romans 8:37). What Paul shows us in these verses is how the credit for the power to live a victorious life goes to God and not to us.

 

Paul came into situations where he didn’t know what to do and even where there seemed to be no escape. But He knew he was never without God’s help. His earthly reasoning didn’t have the answers. But Paul wasn’t just a mind and body. Paul had Christ living in his born-again spirit, and he drew on the power of the Holy Spirit from within. He had the treasure of God’s grace living in him, and he drew from that treasure by faith. This kept him from despair and discouragement. Our problems or even our lack of problems should never determine how we feel. We can draw from the treasure of Christ within us—the power of the Holy Spirit—to overcome every situation and to know what the Holy Spirit asks of us (Romans 8:37, 1 Corinthians 15:57). 

 

It is only when we die to ourselves that Christ can manifest His life in us. God doesn’t give us problems to prove that we are His. Satan is the one who afflicts and attempts to steal God’s truth from our hearts (John 10:10). Godly believers are constantly persecuted because of their stand for Christ. When we draw on the truth of who we are in Christ, we experience His life and His power in our lives.

 

Paul endured his afflictions for the sake of others. He denied himself so that others could receive the grace of Jesus. Throughout his ministry, many made Christ the Lord of their lives. And this was enough reward for Paul. In dying to self his inner man was being renewed every day. When we allow our inner man to be transformed by the truth of who we are in Christ, we conform to God’s image of us (Romans 12:2). 

 

Paul died to himself so Christ might live through him (Galatians 2:20). Knowing his position in Christ and all the benefits it gave Him, Paul was able to yield to God. Knowing your position in Christ is crucial to yield to Him. You yield to God when you trust Him more than yourself. Dying to self—dying to your need to prove yourself, magnifies God’s position in your life. And knowing who you are in Christ gives you God’s perspective. You have His power within you to show your power is from Him and not from you. You have His faith to believe that Christ is greater in you than anything that comes against you. 

 

Do you know the treasure that you have received in Christ?  Do you realize all the benefits of the new life He gave His precious blood for you to have? Never forget them! Guard them in your heart! Allow Jesus to live through you! You have been entrusted with God’s greatest treasure!

 

© 2023 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2023/12/his-treasure-within-you.html

 

 

 

Welcome His Word

 

While many believers hope for an instant miraculous healing from God, that is the exception to the rule.  God uses many different ways to send His healing power to us. The most powerful way to receive healing is through His Word.

 

“He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions” (Psalm 107:20).

 

“My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh” (Proverbs 4:20-22).

 

Give attention to the words God speaks to you. His words are truth (John 17:17). They are spirit and life for you (John 6:63). His Word is life and health to your flesh. Keep the Word the Holy Spirit quickens to you in the midst of your heart. Don’t let what He says depart from your sight. Envision yourself through His Word and not what is real in your life right now. God’s Word is available to all who will take the time to receive it. Just as medicine doesn’t produce an instant result and is progressive in bringing healing, so it can be with the Word. Of course, the cares of this world can choke the Word. The attention we give to the Word is often brief and rushed. 

 

The better response to the Word is described by Jeremiah.

 

“Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts” (Jeremiah 15:16).

 

Just reading the gospels and meditating on the miracles and healings of Jesus can bring a new vision and activate faith in our lives. The more of our hearts we give to His Word, the more of His life and healing power is at work in us.

 

God’s Word is God Himself speaking life to us. 

 

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).

 

We may not “feel” anything different most of the time, but we can trust the Word is at work. Let fellowship with Him in His Word be the center of your day. Keep your mind focused on His Word instead of what is going on in your life.

 

“For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

 

When God’s Word activates faith in your heart, you welcome it. You receive it, not as the words of men that profit you nothing, but as His truth that works effectively in all who believe it.

 

 

© 2023 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2023/12/welcome-his-word.html

 

Are You Satisfied with Jesus?

 

John 14:5-11

 

 

The night before His crucifixion Jesus told the disciples that He would be leaving them soon to prepare a place in His Father’s house for them. He told them that He would return one day to get them and that they knew the way.

 

Thomas declared they did not know where He was going and asked how could they know the way. 

 

“I am the way, the truth, and the life,” Jesus said. “No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

 

“Lord, show us the Father,” Philip said, “and we will be satisfied.”

 

Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.”

 

Are we like Philip and not satisfied with the truth that is right before us? Maybe we are like Thomas and have trouble believing. Christ satisfied the law once and for all time for us. He satisfied the price for our salvation and healing and provision and wholeness of life. He has given us the right relationship with the Father. Yet, are we like Philip asking Him to prove Himself to us just one more time? If Jesus has shown us the Father, why aren’t we satisfied with what He has done for us? Why do we have trouble believing every Word of truth He has given us?

 

You can know about Jesus and not know Him. You can know what the Word says with your mind and not believe the Word in your heart. The heart is where you believe. And for the heart to believe His truth you cannot connect to God with your natural mind. Your spirit connects with His Spirit (2 Corinthians 2:14).

 

“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power” (Colossians 2:9).

 

Jesus is in the Father, and the Father is in Him. Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead in you. You are complete in Him. Whoever is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him (1 Corinthians 6:17). That should be more than enough to satisfy us.

 

You received the righteousness of God in your born-again spirit when you were made new in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17, 21). But you must know what His truth says about your new life in Christ and believe it is yours. You choose to draw by faith from the truth of your identity in Him. 

 

“The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation “Isaiah 58:11, 12:3).

 

Do you hunger to believe all Christ has done for you out of unconditional His love? To lay down all of your doubt and believe His truth? To taste and see that He is good? He satisfies your hunger with good things so that you are renewed! He guides you and satisfies your soul in hard times and good times with His Word that is planted deeply in your heart. He reveals to you the truths of your salvation. His living water springs up in you—to be an ever-flowing stream whose water never fails. You draw from the truth of His salvation! You draw from the Lord who is one with you in spirit!

 

“Have you been with me all this time and have not known me?” Jesus asks each one of us.

 

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,” Jesus taught in Matthew 5:6, “for they shall be filled. They shall be satisfied." Hunger to learn the righteousness—the right standing—you have received with God in Christ. It is the very heart of your relationship with Him. 

 

Learn in the Word your identity in Jesus. Be renewed continually in your mind with the truths of your fellowship with God. Believe by faith in your heart that these truths are true. God is faithful. You shall know He is enough. You shall be satisfied and filled with Jesus. He is your way, your truth, and your life!

 

“God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9).

 

 

© 2023 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2023/12/are-you-satisfied-with-jesus.html

 

 

 

 

 

All Things Are Possible to Him Who Believes

 

 

Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him. —Luke 23:8

 

Herod had desired for a long time to see Jesus. He had heard many things about him, and now this man who did miracles stood right before him. He hoped to see some miracle. But when questioned cynically by Herod, Jesus said and did nothing.     Miracles are God's way of meeting the needs of those who seek Him in faith. Often God will use those who have been given the spiritual gifts of healing or the working of miracles to demonstrate His power so that people will believe (1 Corinthians 12:9-10), but miracles will not happen to cynics who try to tempt God (Luke 4:9-12).   A miracle is a supernatural intervention of God's power over natural law.    Healings happen within the boundaries of natural law while miracles are not limited to natural law. For example, a person who has a high fever and starts to recover is experiencing healing. The natural healing process the Lord created in all our bodies has taken over. When something totally supernatural happens, that is a miracle. Jesus reattaching the servant's ear after Peter cut it off (Luke. 22:51)—Jesus healing a man’s withered hand (Mark 3:1-6) —Peter and John healing a lame man in the name of Jesus (Acts 3:1-8) are just a few examples of miracles in the Word. Each one was a healing but each one was a miraculous healing.   Jesus feeding the five thousand (Mark:19-20), walking on the water (Matthew:14:25), and translating a ship and all aboard to the other side of the sea (John 6:21) are all miracles. Miracles are usually instantaneous while healings are sometimes gradual.   A healing or a miracle comes from God either naturally or supernaturally. Whether we pray by faith for healing or a miracle, God meets us where our faith is. He meets us where we believe. If you believe what the Word tells you in your heart, He responds to you there.    Jesus said to the woman who touched the hem of his garment. “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction” (Mark 5:34).   Jesus said to the leper who returned to give glory to God. “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well” (Luke 17:19).   The same faith with which you believed for your salvation is the same faith you believe for your healing.    “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:4-5).   Faith in Jesus—putting your faith in the truth of what He has done for you—is your victory that overcomes. What is your need? What do you believe?   “If you can believe,” Jesus said, “all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23).   www.lynnlacher.com/2023/12/all-things-are-possible-to-him-who-_5.html

 

No More Desperation in Christ

 

 

And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

—John 6:35  

But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.

—John 4:14

 

Once we come to Jesus, He said we would never hunger. He said that if we believe in Him—if we drink of His water—we would never thirst. Jesus obviously wasn’t speaking of a physical hunger or thirst. Jesus was speaking in a spiritual sense. Once we believe in Him, Jesus said our spiritual hunger and thirst would be satisfied.

 

Many Christians talk about their hunger and thirst for God. If they are speaking of their passion for God, this makes perfect sense. But why do some believers often talk about being desperately hungry for a life of His peace? Or being desperately thirsty for a life of joy? Jesus is God’s gift of peace that overcomes our tumultuous problems (John 16:33). Jesus came so our joy might be full (John 15:11). When we know Him and the power of His resurrection, we abound in His spiritual peace and joy (Romans 15:13). We know His faith in us is greater than any emotion or feeling.

 

If we believe in Jesus, we don’t have to be emotionally desperate. 

 

The American Heritage Dictionary says the word “desperate” means “reckless or violent because of despair; nearly hopeless; critical. The Houghton Mifflin American Heritage Electronic Dictionary gives synonyms for “desperate” as “hopeless, forlorn, despondent, despairing, critical, crucial, acute, and dire.” It defines “desperate” as “having lost all hope.”

 

Why would the word “desperate” ever describe us as children of God? We believe in Jesus’ finished work of salvation for us on the cross. We believe in His resurrection power in our lives. We aren’t hopeless and forlorn. We haven’t lost all hope. Faith is the substance of what we hope for (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is our positive response to the grace of Jesus. We take God’s truth as His authority and power in our lives. We believe His truth by faith and make it our own. 

 

Being spiritually hungry for more understanding of the new life that is ours in Christ isn’t feeling desperate. Jesus is the Word full of grace and truth (John 1:14). Ask, and you shall receive. Seek, and you shall find His truth. Knock, and His truth will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7). And when you believe God’s truth in your heart, your hunger and thirst are satisfied. You know you lack nothing in His unconditional love and grace. You are filled to overflowing with Him.

 

The problem is many believers don’t know the truth of who Jesus is in their lives and all He has done for them. They haven’t been transformed by renewing their minds with the Word (Romans 12:2). If they had, they would know the truth of who they are in Christ in their hearts. They would be satisfied with Jesus. He would be all they need.

 

A spiritual hunger to know and believe God’s truth will satisfy your hunger and thirst. It will overcome your emotional desperation. It will overcome your fear. It will overcome your doubt. Those who come to Jesus need not be desperate. Those who come to know Him are filled with believing faith in God’s truth. Knowing who you are in Christ gives you a victorious life instead of a desperate one.

 

“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water'” (John 7:37-38).

 

No doubt there were many desperately thirsty souls listening to Jesus. His words were a direct invitation for them to ignore their religious arguments and just come and take a drink of His living water and see if they would be satisfied.

 

If you have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are saved (Acts 16:31). You have come to Him by faith. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God in your heart (Romans 10:17). You believe His truth by faith. Listen to the Holy Spirit revealing God’s Word to you. Drink of His truth. Drink of Him. Receive His living water. You no longer need to thirst. You no longer need to be desperate. His life is now your life.

 

Jesus is the bread of life that satisfies your hunger.

 

“Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart” (Jeremiah 15:16).

 

Jesus—the Word—is the living water that satisfies your thirst. 

 

“But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst” (John 4:14).

 

Now may the God of hope fill you, my friend in Christ, with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:33).

 

 

© 2023 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2023/12/no-more-desperation-in-Christ.html

 

He is Faithful

 

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

—1 Corinthians 1:9

 

What are you called to do? You are called to be in fellowship with Jesus. And when you are in fellowship with Jesus, you are transformed by the renewing of your mind with the Word. You will prove what God’s perfect will is (Romans 12:2). Don’t worry about what God wants you to do. He leads you beside still waters and restores you (Psalm 23:2-3). God is faithful to accomplish His will in your life when you seek Him. 

 

You are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), but when you are consumed with sin and shame from which Christ has redeemed you, your heart will condemn you. But praise His Holy name! God’s grace is greater than your heart (1 John 3:20). Let the Holy Spirit draw you into a deepening and intimate fellowship with God through His unreserved love and grace.

 

^“Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:16-18).

 

When you are renewed in the spirit of your mind with God’s truth, you can come to know the new person Christ has made you. You don’t have to hide behind a veil of sin and shame that Jesus bore on the cross for you. You are free in the Holy Spirit when you know the identity of the new person you have become in Christ. You can stand before God with an unveiled face no longer consumed with the consciousness of sin. You can put on the new man created by God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:23-24). But you choose to be renewed by God’s Word and to put on the new man. You choose to identify with Christ, and not with the old sinful nature from which Jesus redeemed you.

 

You can’t put on the righteousness of God Christ has given you when you don’t believe it is yours. Let the faith of Jesus grow in your heart. You don’t have to hide anymore behind fig leaves that never hide shame. Jesus restores your soul. Don’t try to cover up what Jesus has washed away with His precious blood. His grace has cleansed your heart. You don’t have to hold yourself together. Drop the false identity of the old man that has passed away. Accept the love of Jesus in all His fullness. He is your real identity. That is who you are. 

 

Freedom from sin and its shame is not found in what you do. Freedom from sin is found in the perfect love of Jesus. Jesus, who had no sin, became your sin, so you could have His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). Don’t make your faith about what you lack. Make it about what Jesus has accomplished for you.

 

God is faithful. His love is constant. He has called you righteous because He sees Jesus’ finished work of grace in you. Your sin to God is as far as the East is from the West. The love of Jesus isn’t about how well you can love God. You could never love and serve God as much as He loved and served you. God loved you before you ever loved Him. Your identity in Jesus is not about how much you love Him. Your identity is about how much He loved you. 

 

That veil is torn.  Let go of the attempts to prove your righteousness. Let go of the old identity you had before you received Jesus in your heart. Open yourself to the new creation He has wrought forth in you. You aren’t meant to thirst and never be filled. Believe who Jesus is in your life and the new life that is yours. And out of your heart will flow rivers of living water (John 7:38).

 

God has called you into a relationship with Him, and He is faithful to that relationship. As God loved His Son, He also loves you.

 

 

© 2023 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2023/12/he-is-faithful.html

 

 

It Is Written

 

 It Is Written

 

 

God’s Word is living and powerful. His Word is absolute truth. It is the sword of the Spirit that separates the lies we believe from God’s truth. His Word pulls down and destroys anything that comes against its truth (Hebrews 4:12, John 17:17, Ephesians 6:17, 2 Corinthians 10:4). 

 

Jesus answered the temptation of the enemy and declared: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4).

 

Are you struggling with illness? We receive life by every Word God speaks. 

 

It is written:

 

His words are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh (Proverbs 4:22).

 

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah. 53:5).

 

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases (Psalm 103:2-3).

 

But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings (Malachi 4:2).

 

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him (Acts 10:38).

 

He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions (Psalm 107:20).

 

When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick (Matthew 8:16).

 

And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all (Matthew 12:15).

 

And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick (Matthew 14:14).

 

Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus' feet, and He healed them (Matthew 15:30).

 

For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him (Mark 3:10).

 

And great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities (Luke 5:15).

 

Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed (Acts 5:16).

 

Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed (1 Peter. 2:24).

 

And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up (James 5:15).

 

Meditate on God’s Word day and night. See God’s truth. Speak His truth. Choose to believe His truth in your heart.

 

 

www.lynnlacher.com/2023/11/it-is-written.html

 

 

 

  

 

 

Life to All Who Find It

 

 

My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.
Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.

—Provers 4:20-23

 

 

It is hard when you are hanging on by a thread. It is such a relief to finally let go and trust God’s Word. His Word is His truth for you. It is His will. Don’t dilute it because you don’t see any physical evidence of His promise revealed in His Word. Faith is the substance of what you hope for. It is the evidence of what you can’t see (Hebrews 11:1).

 

God’s Word is true. But it is not true in your life until it becomes your Word. Don’t allow questioning God’s truth to get in the way of what the Word says is true for you. That isn’t faith. That is doubt that keeps you from receiving the promises of God’s Word (James 1:7-8). His Word is truth. It is His life yearning to live in you. 

 

If you want the promise God has given you to be true in your life, listen to His Word, and pay attention to what He says. Quiet the other voices. Quiet your doubt. Choose to trust that God—who is the Word—is faithful and trustworthy to accomplish His truth in your life.

 

Your heart is where you believe. Faith comes from spiritually hearing God’s Word in your heart (Romans 10:17). God’s Word is for you. It is not against you. Let God’s Word receive your full attention. Renew your mind continually with its truth. Exercise the measure of faith God has given you, and choose to believe His Word. Don’t allow thoughts contrary to its truth. Keep His Word in the midst of your heart. Guard it with all diligence because out of your heart spring the issues of your life. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7). 

 

“It is the Spirit who gives life; your flesh profits nothing,” Jesus said. “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe” (John 6:63-64).

 

When the Holy Spirit reveals the truth of God’s Word in your heart, hang on to what He has promised you. Let go of doubt and believe. His Word is spirit. It is life and health to all who find it. 

 

 

© 2023 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2023/11/life-to-all-who-find-it.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

Esteem Others Better

 

 

 

“Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself” (Philippians 2:1-3).

 

In Philippians 2:1-3, Paul uses God’s wonderful blessings given to us as motivation for us to give back to Him. We have received consolation and comfort of love in Christ. We have fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Incredible mercies have been bestowed upon us through Christ. What Paul encourages us to give to the Lord is a humble heart in our dealings with other believers. Doing this results in humility. But we cannot exhibit humility in our relationship with others if we are consumed with our own welfare and what other people think of us. 

 

Humility can be defined in many ways, one of which is the absence of pride. Normally, pride is described as arrogance, but that is just one facet of pride. Timidity is another facet of pride, because, in its simplest form, timidty is self-centeredness, A timid person, just like a person who promotes himself, is self-centered and concerned with his own welfare. Paul gives the solution to self-centeredness in these verses—to think of others better than ourselves. 

 

“Bear one another’s burdens,” Paul says in Galatians 6:2-3, “and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”

 

In Galatians 6:2 Paul gives instruction that we are to help others carry their burdens. He says in Galatians 6:3 that if we think we are too important to stoop down and help others with their burdens, then we are deceived about our own importance. 

 

Our self-importance—our worry about what others think—our concern about how we value ourselves—profit us nothing. None of us are anything of ourselves. None of us have any good excuse for not helping restore our fellow believers. This was one of the blatant hard-hearted sins of the Pharisees. 

 

In the Amplified Bible Classic Edition Galatian 6:3 reads, “If any person thinks himself to be somebody [too important to condescend to shoulder another’s load] when he is nobody [of superiority except in his own estimation], he deceives and deludes and cheats himself.”

 

Most people are rarely deluded and deceived by someone else’s arrogance and pride. The trouble is the difficulty we have in recognizing our own self-centeredness. We have the power to delude and cheat ourselves or to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal God’s estimation of our worth in Jesus. Our true sense of worth is found only in Christ. There is no deceit in Christ. So we choose to not be deceived. We choose not to think that we are above anyone else. We choose not to debase Christ’s worth in our lives. We choose to reach beyond ourselves.

 

We fulfill the Law of Christ—we reveal the true worth of His love in us—when we are not too important or too prideful to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us to help others carry their burdens. Jesus had no lofty ambition. He never asked anyone about their sin before he healed them. The sin Jesus addressed was the hard-heartedness of those who judged others harshly by the Old Testament Law instead of by the Law of His Love. We are to be one-minded with Jesus. We are to love with His love without condemnation and hypocrisy. 

 

Don’t deceive yourself. You are in Christ. You have received the consolation and comfort of His love. You have fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Make Jesus’ joy complete. He humbled himself and fulfilled the whole Law for you. In humility, fulfill His Law of Love. Whether you are bold or shy, let nothing point to yourself. Reach beyond yourself in His love. In humility, esteem others better.

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