Galatians 1:13. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.
Think together: Have you ever seen “before and after” pictures? Maybe before exercising, then after exercising. Or a house before it was fixed up, then after it was fixed up.
Read together:
Every Christian has a “before and after”—before Jesus and after Jesus. Paul calls his “before” his “former life in Judaism.” Before becoming a Christian, Paul loved God and he loved religion. He loved the Old Testament; he loved learning about Abraham, Moses, and King David. He especially loved all the rules in the Old Testament. He loved keeping the Ten Commandments, eating all the right foods, making all the right sacrifices, praying all the right prayers, and doing all the right things.
Do you know what Paul didn’t love? Jesus. Paul’s “before” was a life of hating Jesus and hating Christians. He says that he “persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.” Why? Because Paul thought that Christians were actually against God. He thought that Jesus was a fake, a liar, and that all his followers were the same.
“Before,” Paul thought that the way to Heaven was to know what God wants us to do and then do it. We must know God’s law and then obey it. But that is not what God wants, is it? Why not? Because God knows that none of us can keep His laws. God is so perfect, and so are His rules, that anyone who thinks they can obey them all is only lying to themselves. And that’s exactly what Paul was doing.
The truth is that the only way to Heaven is to trust in Jesus and His grace and kindness for us on the cross.
Paul’s “before” was him trying to be really, really good so that God would love him. But his “after” was him knowing that God already loved him and sent Jesus, the Son, to die for him on the cross. Now Paul could obey from BEING loved instead of trying to get God to love him.
What is your “before and after?” Are you still trying to get God to love you, or do you know that He will always love you because of Jesus?
Do something together: Talk about your “before Jesus and after Jesus.” Draw pictures of yourself “before Jesus” and then “after Jesus.”
Because of Jesus: We can be saved from our “before” life of trying to be good.
With Jesus: We are no longer what we used to be. We are saved and free!
Pray: Father, because I am trusting in Jesus, I am not what I used to be. My “before” is gone and my “after” is here. Thank you! Amen.
