Daily Devotion for June 25, 2026

2 Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that, if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 Once again I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law. 4 You who want to be reckoned as righteous by the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.

“One-two-three, eyes on me.” In preschool, this phrase commands immediate attention. In a church setting, a leader might say, “The Lord be with you,” triggering an automatic, room-quieting response: “And also with you.”

The biblical writer, Paul, begins with the same urgency. "Listen," he says, or in another translation, "Mark my words." He is essentially telling us, Phones down, I need you to hear this.

Paul's bold introduction sets up a crucial point about the gospel. For generations, people understood God’s promise to be physically reflected in circumcision—a lifelong reminder of God's grace. But Paul argues that after Jesus, circumcision is no longer required to be claimed by God. His promise is for everyone, Jewish or not. No physical act, ritual, or duty can justify us before God.

While circumcision is now a medical debate rather than a religious one, Paul’s argument was radical. It upended centuries of tradition and likely hurt those who had been faithful to the old ways.

Today, the hot-button issues have changed, but Jesus’ message of grace remains just as radical. Modern symbols—like wearing a cross or a tattoo—can remind us of God’s promise, but they are not the promise itself. Paul emphasizes that faith does not come from physical indicators, but from "faith expressing itself in love." Acts of love are what count.

So, "listen," "mark these words," or do whatever it takes to bring your life into focus. Do not fixate on external symbols. Instead, let God's concern for you flow out of you as love.

Prayer: God, help me do what it takes to listen. Let my actions and my being be expressions of your love.

Karen Cauley

karenowllandahl@gmail.com

Prayer Concern: For those unable to look up, and for those so distracted they cannot see Jesus.