Today's reading is the conclusion of Paul's passionate letter about the true nature of Christian faith to the churches of Galatia. Building on the previous section, where Paul describes the way that one can distinguish between actions that are sinfully human (works "of the flesh," in his words) and those that are faithful and good (fruits "of the Spirit).Paul recognizes that even Christians will sometimes behave badly (doing things 'of the flesh'), but he believes that the Holy Spirit helps other people in the congregation to identify those bad behaviors and then empowers them to lovingly offer correction. If the Galatian Christians will simply love and support each other, honestly praising the good behaviors guided by the Spirit and correcting the bad behaviors of the flesh, they have no need of Jewish law or any list of religious regulations. And they will begin to better understand and experience the new life that God has in store for them as disciples of Jesus Christ.
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Reading the Bible in Its Entirety
If you are planning to read the Bible in its entirety, you should read Galatians 6 today.
