Galatians 6:14-15. May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation.
Today’s Word reminds us that what the world desperately needs is not improvement but healing—deep, fundamental healing that only God can give. Humanity needs healing from living under the power of the devil, as Scripture says that Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil (Acts 10:38).
We need healing for broken hearts and weary minds, the kind of rest Jesus promised to those who are burdened and exhausted (Matthew 11:28-30). We need healing from diseases that ravage both body and soul, and even healing from empty religion that leaves people more vulnerable than before, swept clean yet uninhabited by truth and life (Matthew 12:43-45).
True healing comes only from God, who sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer in our place so that we might be restored. On the cross, Christ bore the full weight of sin, curses, and separation from God, breaking the power of sin, Satan, and hell forever. Healing begins when we realize how deeply God loves us—that He placed all our iniquity, guilt, and wounds upon His Son. It continues when we believe that our sins of the past, present, and future have already been dealt with completely through the blood of Christ.
When Jesus cried out, “It is finished,” He declared that nothing more was required for salvation, healing, or restoration. The work was complete. Paul understood this truth so clearly that he made a radical confession about his life: he refused to boast in anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through that cross, the world lost its grip on him, and he was freed from the world’s standards and the bondage of religion. To those who were perishing, the cross seemed foolish, weak, and unnecessary, but to those being saved, it was and still is the very power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18). Because of this, Paul resolved to know nothing else as the foundation of his life except Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2).
The cross forces us to ask an honest question: Is the cross of Jesus Christ truly sufficient, complete, and absolute for us? If it is, then we must stop relying on the flesh—on religion, legalism, self-effort, moral pride, or human achievement. These things may appear impressive, but they have no power to overcome sin, Satan, or death. We must also stop boasting in our wisdom, our strength, or our riches, because none of these can heal the deepest wounds of the human soul.
Instead, we are called to boast in God’s redemptive plan revealed throughout Scripture: in the promise of the offspring of the woman who would crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15), in the ark that saved life from judgment (Genesis 6:14), in the blood of the Passover lamb that delivered God’s people from bondage (Exoduso 3:18), in Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14)—God with us—and ultimately in Jesus the Christ (Matthew 16:16), the fulfillment of every promise. When we boast in Christ alone, we stand on what God has done, not on what we can do.
Do not be discouraged by your weaknesses or failures. Scripture is clear that what truly counts is not outward appearance or performance but the new creation (1 Corinthians 6:15). In Christ, you are no longer defined by your past; the old has passed away and the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17). God’s desire is to bring healing and restoration into your life, to forgive you, renew you, and display His peace and abundance through you so that others may see the gospel.
God does not stop with healing you; He intends to use your life as a channel of healing for others—your family, your church, your community, your nation, and even the world. As you boast only in the cross, God will work through you to bring freedom to those still suffering under the devil’s power and to lead them into the life and peace found in Christ.
Prayer. Lord, thank You for healing my life through Jesus Christ, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I choose to boast only in the cross, where my sins were forgiven, and my life was restored. Use my life to carry the message of the cross to those who are broken, wounded, and oppressed. In Jesus’ name, Amen.