Dear Father, When I was younger, we were taught to quote a scripture while demonstrating what it meant with our hands: “From henceforth, let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” I grew up understanding that because of the mark of the Lord Jesus I had spiritually placed on myself, no demon or person could lay a finger on me. Symbolically, this is not wrong; but perhaps, this wasn’t exactly what Paul meant. The Greek word for the marks: stigmata, means physical marks or scars. In other places throughout Scripture, we see how Paul endured severe physical suffering because he preached the gospel. There were times when he was beaten, imprisoned, stoned, and left for dead, and so much more. Paul was literally saying, My suffering for Christ proves where my loyalty lies. The issue with my former understanding of this Scripture is that while I strive to obtain the benefits of what it means to bear the mark of Christ, I exempt myself from the responsibility. Paul describes how committed he was to serving the kingdom’s mandate, even through inconvenience, so evident that you could see traces of it on his skin. Today, I ponder the state of my service. How committed would I be to You if I had to serve through inconvenience? If my expectations are not met, or my plans do not fall right into place? Does the level of my commitment rise and fall to the degree of my comfort or answered prayers? Father, if we had to count my scars, how many do I bear for You? Perhaps the evidence is proof of service. Perhaps this is what Paul meant: that our allegiance is best seen through our commitment to service. Translations: Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindi Slide 5: Urdu Slide 6: Portuguese #LettertoGod #Galatians6:17 #marksofChrist #responsibility #benefits