A gospel of grace

Paul writes to the Galatians:

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God?
Or am I trying to please people?
If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
                                                            (Galatians 1: 10)

He can look back on his life, his actions following the death of Stephen and his persecution of the church, and see that what drove him was this need to win the approval of human beings, or even a need to win the approval of God. So many of us can recognise this- the need for approval is so deeply ingrained in our culture, and fed by the influence of social media, that we even fear that as we approach God, we need to be doing it right.

Paul seemed to be doing so much right- in his education, his eloquence, his influence and his righteousness. But on the road to Damascus, a light was shone into his soul and what it revealed to him was the inability of any of these things to save him.
As he struggled to complete his journey, blinded and needing to be led by the hand, did he hear  muffled laughter at his helplessness, or was he imagining it? The crusading arrival into Damascus that he had planned now looked very different- the approval of those whom he had sought to impress was lost, and did he maybe fear he had lost God's approval too because he couldn't complete the task he had set himself?

He himself explains what he came to realise in those three days of darkness:

For whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him...
                                                                                      (Philippians 3: 7-9)


As we read the words from Galatians, do we see ourself reflected there?
Perhaps today is a day to let go of what we think we need to bolster our self esteem.
This Advent time, as we wait for the coming of Christ, may we take a long look at the places where we have been trying to gain approval and hear instead the gospel of grace, that Paul discovered makes all else seem like garbage.