Running a Good Race: preaching the true gospel

I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:11-12 

The higher up the mountain trail I hiked that summer morning, the more amazing the rugged beauty became. It is said that aspens quake; and so they do, their leaves in constant motion. Fresh new cones topped the evergreens. The rocky peaks of Mt. Timpanogos rose in the blue, blue sky, a touch of snow tucked in grey crevices. Marmots scampered; birds twittered; a moose lumbered across the meadow. 

How could one behold this beauty and not see the Creator behind the creation? Truth is though, many are not running the race with Jesus. They do not know the Christ and hence are not privy to revelation from Jesus. Others have not been taught by those who know the Creator and have fallen prey to a gospel…that man made up. 

The apostle Paul felt compelled to make sure his friends in Galatia knew he had received the true gospel. Totally steeped in Judaism from an early age, he knew Old Testament Law backwards and forwards, including its many man-made laws. He understood Isaiah’s prophetic promise of a child…a son…to reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom…from that time on and forever (Isaiah 9:6-7), to mean that God would send a Messiah. Yet, for all the rabbinic teaching Paul missed Jesus—unlike Simeon (Luke 2:25-32) and Anna (Luke 2:36-38), who knew the Christ immediately. 

How cool is Paul’s next statement: God…who called me by his grace…was pleased to reveal his Son in me(Galatians 1:15-16)! That Jesus was indeed the Messiah became clear to Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3-6), and subsequently clear in Paul as he preached what Christ revealed to him—the true gospel.  

You and I, called by God’s grace, have had the Son revealed to us and are to reveal the Son in us. Oswald Chambers’ question (My Utmost for His Highest, 8.8) is pertinent: “If the Son of God has been born into my human flesh, then am I allowing His holy innocence, simplicity, and oneness with the Father the opportunity to exhibit itself in me?” Am I running Jesus’ race, wearing the t-shirt of the true gospel team? 

Nancy P