Obligations vs Faith (Galatians 4:8-20)

Galatians 4:8-9 At a time when you did not know God, you became slaves to things that by nature are not gods; but now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and destitute elemental powers? Do you want to be slaves to them all over again?

Paul is asking the people why they are sticking tight to the old law that Jesus freed them from. They were following the old law before Paul had told them of Jesus, and they seemed to be following faith, but they have slipped back into believing that following the old law gives them grace from God for their sins. But as we have read before, those who continued to follow the old law were always doomed to failure, because no one upheld the laws perfectly. And God sent us Jesus so that we no longer had to follow the old laws. We no longer are held to specific days of worship, or sacrifices, or staying away from certain foods. We are no longer held by such strict rules in order to obtain good graces, because Jesus took all of our sins with him. 

It is through faith alone that we are saved. If we choose to follow God's word and do merciful acts for others, we must do them with free will and unconditionally; without being rewarded or even telling people. It is through faith that we serve others, it is through faith that we put others before ourselves. Because through faith, we know that God sees our heart. He sees our true intentions. Don't go to church on Christmas and Easter because you feel obligated to, or because you want others to see you. Go to church because you want to thank God what you have been given. Go often because you have so much to be grateful for. God because your faith reminds you that you need Him. Church is not an obligation. It was given to us by Jesus and through our faith we thank him. 

We don't have faith in the building itself, just like we don't have faith in the specific works we do. Our faith is in Jesus, and through our faith, maybe others can see Him and come to know him. Our faith is bigger than any building, bigger than any religion. Faith comes in all shapes and sizes, and can't be stuffed into a specific box. Everyone shows faith differently, and we must remember to never think "oh they aren't showing God's works there," or "God can't possibly be present there," just because it isn't ours. God is bigger than what our mind can image.