The Danger of Legalism

Okay, well, good morning, everyone. It's lovely to see you. My name is Graeme. I'm the pastor here at the church and we're going to turn to God's word now.

So why don't you turn, if you have a Bible, to the book of Galatians. We're in at chapter five today. If you don't have a Bible, then there's ones on the pews. You can even grab your own this morning at the back.

We've got a ton of them just to give away every Sunday. We want to get God's word into as many people's hands as possible.

So you can grab one of them on your way out this morning, or you can even scroll on your phone. We'll let you away with that one.

But whatever you need to do to get the Bible, God's word open in front of you, make sure that you do it.

And Galatians chapter five is where we are today. But why don't we just pray before we get into this passage together.

Father, truly you are the holy God, the matchless one, the incomparable one, the eternal one.

And Lord, like we sang at the start, who are we? Who are we to come into your presence?

Father, thank you that the initiative, as we'll see this morning, is all yours.

The invitation that you make us through Christ to come and know forgiveness, have life, and to call on you and know you as Father.

And so Lord, we pray that as we turn to Galatians chapter five today, that the words of Psalm 19 verse 10 would be true.

Psalms 19:10

They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold.

They are sweeter than honey, than honey from your honeycomb.

Lord, may we know the sweetness of your word today, we pray.

In Jesus' name we ask. Amen.

Amen.

Well, folks, here's what we need to do with this text, if we're to really get it,

is we need to kind of enter its atmosphere.

Here's what I mean by that.

If we're to understand this, the clue is all in its tone.

All in its tone.

You know, when our little girl Grace was little, one of the things that she used to do,

we used to love to do as a family, was to go to the little transparent bridge

that is just underneath the castle that kind of goes over the train lines at Waverly.

The transparent bridge was one of her favorite things to do because she loved to look at the trains coming and going

and get a wave from the train driver.

It was her favorite thing to do.

I remember one Saturday we went, though, and there was a gate put in front of this little,

the entrance to this transparent bridge.

And the sign on the gate just said,

Warning, danger, falling rocks.

Danger, danger, falling rocks.

And despite the protestations, Dad, can we not just claim it?

As a parent, you know that you've got to be the grown-up in the room

and you realize that that sign is telling you something that you need to wake up and see,

that this is not a suggestion, this is not a top tip,

the brevity tells you everything, that this is a warning.

Venture here, venture beyond this, you're in some serious danger.

Friends, this is a warning text.

See what he writes at verse 2.

Mark my words.

You ever said that?

You ever written that?

Mark my words suggests, anytime I've ever used that phrase,

that what I'm about to say, I really, really mean it.

Here is Paul the pastor deeply concerned about the souls of the Galatian people.

And we've got to work out and ask ourselves,

what is the thing that he's so concerned about?

So why don't we read this together?

It's Galatians chapter 3.

Galatians 3 · chapter mention

Sorry, Galatians chapter 5.

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

See if you can spot his tone.

See if you can spot the thing that he's warning them about.

It is for freedom, says Paul, that Christ has set us free.

Stand firm then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Mark my words.

I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised,

Christ will be of no value to you at all.

Again, I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised,

that he is obligated to obey the whole law.

You who are trying to be justified by the law

have been alienated from Christ.

You've fallen away from grace.

For through the Spirit,

we eagerly await by faith

the righteousness for which we hope.

For in Christ Jesus,

neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value.

The only thing that counts

is faith expressing itself through love.

You're running a good race.

Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?

That kind of persuasion

does not come from the one who calls you.

A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.

I'm confident in the Lord that you will take no other view.

The one who is throwing you into confusion,

whoever that may be,

will have to pay the penalty.

Brothers and sisters,

if I'm still preaching circumcision,

why am I still being persecuted?

In that case,

the offense of the cross has been abolished.

As for those agitators,

I wish they would go the whole way

and emasculate themselves.

Friends, if nothing else,

hold on for that bit.

Now, what is up for grabs in Galatia

and what's up for takes this morning

is the words that you get in verse one,

the word that we thought about last week,

and it's this word,

freedom.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

Stand firm.

That's the imperative there.

Stand firm.

And blink,

and you might miss the two little details at verse one.

Notice the image.

One that he's taken from everyday agricultural life.

The yoke being the wooden beam

that you put around the neck of two animals

that binds them together.

Paul says,

uses the image,

yoked to slavery.

Striking, isn't it?

Notice the image,

but notice the word.

Again, blink,

and you might miss this.

What is the word?

Again.

You see it?

Again.

Now, do you know what that tells us?

And this is one of the big themes

we'll carry through this sermon this morning.

It tells us

that there's more than one way

that you can be a slave.

More than one way

that you and I can be a slave.

Now, the Galatians,

remember,

we thought about this last week,

these guys,

the majority, I imagine,

would have grown up in a Gentile background,

knew nothing of the gods

of the Old Testament,

as it were.

Their former way of life

was chasing and spending themselves

worshiping idols.

Paul's called those idols

back at chapter four,

weak and miserable forces.

These things that they were chasing,

they were giving themselves

to pursuing,

thinking

that at some point,

if I keep on

giving myself to this,

it's going to be like

the pinata of my dreams,

that at some point,

I'm going to whack it

and all the goodies

are going to come

and fall on my head.

And that's what they thought.

But in the end,

all of those things

that they were giving themselves to

were just black holes

of emptiness

that were always leaving them

wanting more,

never satisfying,

never fulfilling.

And that's what an idol is.

We can look at this and think,

well, just miniature shrines,

perhaps that's one side of it.

The other side

is just something in our lives

that we worship

because we think

it's going to give us

the ultimate lasting thing.

Something that we give ourselves to

because we've been duped

into thinking

that if only we can get

our hands on that,

if only we manage to find

and get for ourselves that,

then we will be complete.

And the Bible says

the reality

is that even though

we think we are sipping

on martinis,

in actual fact, friends,

we're guzzling salt water.

You know that famous line

by John D. Rockefeller,

do you remember this line

that he gave,

richest American at the time?

How much money does it make

to make a man happy?

Just one more dollar.

Man who literally

had everything

and yet do those sound to you

like the words of a free man.

When we make a good thing,

friends,

when we make a good thing

into a God thing,

it is a recipe for disaster.

And Paul's saying

that God in Christ,

and this is

all of our stories,

isn't it?

He has saved us

out of that hollow

way of life.

Friends,

I dread to think

what my life would be

if Jesus hadn't

got involved.

The things that I would

be pursuing,

thinking that life

is all about these things.

He has saved us

out of that hollow

way of life,

out of slavery,

and he's saved us

to walk in freedom

as we know him.

To know Christ.

But here's the thing

that Paul perceives

that maybe the Galatians,

maybe we don't even

perceive it in our own lives.

They are in grave danger

of just swapping

one form of slavery

for another.

And Paul calls out

the issue

for the first time

in this letter.

He's going to dance

around it a little bit

named it.

But here he names it.

What is the thing?

It is circumcision.

That's the presenting issue.

Acts 15

gives us the mantra

of these false teachers.

Rocking up in Galatia,

this is what they're peddling.

Unless you are circumcised,

this is what they're saying,

according to the custom

taught by Moses,

you cannot be saved.

Do you see how ultimate

that is?

And Paul says,

if you adopt that

as your life thesis,

Galatians,

you are declaring

that what Jesus did

for us on the cross

wasn't wholly sufficient.

And allow that mindset

to slither in the door

of your life.

Verse 2.

See what he says.

Not only will Christ

be of no value to you,

but verse 3,

you'll find yourselves

in a place

where you'll need

to obey the whole law.

And he summarizes it

in verse 4.

And I always think

this is just like

the films

when you see

somebody just pull the pin

between the two

train carriages

and they just begin

to drift,

they become untethered.

Paul says,

you adopt this

and you'll be

detached,

alienated from Christ

and everything

that he's won for you,

everything that's yours

because of him,

it will no longer

be yours.

Now at this point

you may be thinking

one of two things.

Number one,

why is Paul

getting so worked up

over a minor male

surgical operation?

Surely there's

bigger fish to fry.

Surely there's

bigger things

to go after.

Number two thing

you might be thinking,

honestly,

I just don't care.

A trivial

first century

theological debate.

I gave up

a Sunday morning

for this.

I gave up

a 10 o'clock

off,

10 o'clock

tea off time

for this.

I gave up

watching Laura Kusenberg

on Sunday morning

television

for this.

Are you kidding me?

Friends,

here's why this

is so much

more relevant

than we might

think it is

at first glance.

In a sense,

the issue

isn't circumcision.

In a sense.

The issue

is why

these Galatians

feel the need

to be circumcised

in the first place.

Christians

and Christian

or non-Christian,

it doesn't matter

who you are

here this morning,

you might be

tempted to think

this is how it

works when it

comes to how

we relate to

and live with

the God

of the universe.

And the umbrella

term for what

Paul is talking

about here

is legalism.

It is a mindset

that at its

core thinks

that we can

somehow

win

God's

love,

earn

God's

favor

by our

performance.

And Paul

says,

you swallow

that,

friends,

it is

deadly.

And it's

not the

gospel.

And I

just want us

to see from

this passage

how legalism

does three

things to us.

And we've

got to ask

ourselves,

friends,

do we see

any of these

things

in our

lives?

And there's

three of these

things.

The first one's

a lot longer

than the other

two,

just so you

can hang

on in

there.

But let's

ask ourselves,

do we see

any of these

three things

in our

lives?

Here's the

first thing

legalism

does.

It steals

our assurance.

Steals

our assurance.

Have a look

at verse

five.

Come with

me.

Paul's

telling us

there that as

he lives

his life in

the present,

he does

so with

one eye

on his

future.

That's what

he's saying.

Live my

life in

the present

with one

eye on

the future.

And it

is his

confidence

about the

future,

just work

it the

other way

around,

his

confidence

about the

future

that gives

purpose

and meaning

and rest

in his

presence.

So friends,

if you seek

to earn

your way

to God,

here's the

problem that

you'll soon

encounter,

is that

you have

no idea

whether what

you are

doing and

how often

you are

doing it

is going

to be good

enough in

the end

for God.

You've

got no

idea.

How do

you know?

How do

you know?

And this

is one of

the most

unique features

of the

Christian

faith.

There's a

guy that

cuts my

hair just

up the

road from

me,

cuts my

hair every

time I

go in

there.

Always

have a

really good

chat.

He's from

Iran.

Always

have a

really good

chat about

life and

about kids.

He's about

to have

his first

child.

Always

have a

chat about

things.

But every

time I

go in,

I always

go in at

nine o'clock

after the

school run,

go in and

he cuts my

hair and

he just

puts on

the

television

the

YouTube

playlist

of the

Islamic

call to

prayer.

So I'm

listening to

this.

It's always

dangerous.

You pick

your

conversation

when someone

is at

your hair

with

scissors.

But I

just ask

him this

time round,

I said,

listen mate,

can you

just translate

for me

what's being

said?

And he

listens to

it for a

minute and

here's what

he says.

The person

is singing

and praying

that God

would be

merciful.

And then

he did

this.

Merciful,

merciful,

merciful.

And here's

the thing.

We want to

ask our

Muslim

friends is

how do

you know?

How do

you know?

Friends,

we've come in

here this

morning,

we've sang

about how

Jesus has

done

everything.

He's done

everything.

How do

you know?

Friends,

assurance is

the birthright

of every

child of

God.

And it

changes

everything

about how

you live

the Christian

life.

life.

Why is

Paul so

confident in

contrast to

my barber

friend?

Why is

he so

eagerly

expectant

about the

future?

Because the

righteous

verdict that

Christ has

won for

him and

shares with

him and

he knows

by faith

now will

be visibly

declared over

him by

God the

Father when

Christ returns.

The righteous

verdict that we

have now that

we are justified

because of

what Jesus

has done

for us and

that alone

is the

sure proof

of the fact

that it will

be declared

over us in

the end when

Christ returns.

What a day

to have God

declare over

us not

because of a

single thing

that we've

done.

You are

righteous.

You are

justified.

So we can

look confidently

towards that

day knowing

that the

verdict is

coming.

It changes

everything about

your Christian

walk in life.

I was

listening to a

great interview

recently with

a man called

John Lennox.

Three things

about John

Lennox.

Number one,

he's the

emeritus,

professor of

mathematics at

Oxford University.

He's a

Christian and

he's now

81.

So this

interview was

all about how

he is looking

forward to the

future.

What's he

thinking about?

How does he

finish this race

well?

And here's what

he said and I

thought this was

fascinating.

He said that

he looks at so

many of his

peers and his

friends who

are the same

age as him

and about how

they're not

trusting in

Jesus and

how it's

beginning to

dawn on

them that

all the

accolades

that they

have, all

the letters

after their

names, all

the material

possessions that

they have, all

the status and

comfort that

they enjoy is

going to one

day disappear.

And how in

their mindset

it is going

from years

to months

to weeks

to days

and their

whole life

is shrinking

in front of

their eyes.

And he

said in

contrast it

feels like

my life is

the opposite.

It feels

like because

I'm looking

at Jesus,

I'm getting

to know him

every day.

As my mental

faculties fade,

as everything

else goes on

in my life,

my world is

opening up

because I know

what's ahead.

I eagerly

await it,

that righteousness

that God

will declare

on me in

the end.

My life

feels like

it's opening

up.

And do you

know what?

That's exactly

what assurance

does to us.

We can look

ahead confidently

knowing that

assurance is the

rocket fuel of

hope.

Friends,

don't let

legalism steal

your assurance.

Here's the

second thing it

does.

It dilutes

our love.

Have a look

at verse

six,

where Paul

essentially

says,

if I can

spin Shakespeare,

to circumcise

or not to

circumcise,

that is not

the question.

He's saying

whatever route

you go down,

neither have

the ability

to change

a life

because neither

have the power

to truly

transform a

human heart.

That's what

he's saying.

It's not the

issue.

But his

gospel,

Jesus alone,

it does

because the

Holy Spirit

impacts us

in the deepest

places and

in the most

profoundest

of ways.

And how

do you

recognize

a transformed

life?

How can

you tell?

It's that

faith

expresses

itself

in love.

And we're

going to

think a bit

more about

that next

week.

Christ has

saved us

from something

but for

something.

This is how

we're called

to live now,

by loving

each other.

But what

does a

legalistic

mindset

do when

it comes

to how

we relate

to other

people?

Think about

it.

It's about

us earning.

It's about

us doing.

We're no

longer

interested in

serving people.

Actually,

we're interested

in beating

people.

They've not

done what?

They're

associating

with who?

They're

struggling

with that?

I'm

better than

that.

And we

begin to

subtly

promote

ourselves

to the

position

of judge

and jury

or the

flip might

happen.

We look

at people

and it

becomes a

competition.

I'm not

as good

as them.

I need

to live

up to

so-and-so.

I need

to live

for the

approval

of them.

I need

to get

in with

that group.

And you

see what

it does?

Legalism

slowly

begins to

dilute

our love

and neither

of those

things are

us living

in the

freedom

that Jesus

has won

for us.

Whereas

when we

get that

Jesus

has saved

us

by grace

alone

and we

are secure

in that

we will

live a

life of

serving

others

the one

that God

has called

us to.

Faith

expressing

itself

in love.

And the

third thing

that it

does,

legalism,

friends,

it stifles

our joy.

You see

what Paul

says at

verse 8

there?

He wants

the Galatians

to see

that this

persuasion,

this argument

is not

from God.

But notice

what he

calls God

there.

He calls

God the

one who

called

them.

And that

is a

reference

to the

unmerited

favor

of the

God who

wrote our

names in

his book

of life

before the

foundation of

the world.

And who

called us

in time

as he

sent his

son who

died for

our sin,

who rose

again,

he sent

his spirit,

he called

us in

time on

his terms,

not ours.

And the

initiative in

salvation was

all of

God's.

And Paul's

concerned that

the Jesus

plus what

we do

ethic is

going to

work its

way through

their lives.

Do you see

the image

there again

like a bit

of yeast

spreads

through and

eventually

dominates the

entire batch

of dough.

We might

think it's a

little thing,

but you take

this mindset

and it begins

to permeate

everything.

Because

legalism's

default mode

is

tick

box.

if I

do this,

then God

will somehow

be happier

with me

than if I

don't do

this.

Whether

it's

prayer,

whether it's

attendance,

whether it's

serving,

whether it's

even our

Bible reading.

Friends,

they're all

wonderful things,

but if we

think that

by doing

them we

are somehow

earning God's

love or his

favor like he

looks on us

disapprovingly

if we somehow

have a bad

night's sleep

and we

miss it.

Do you

see how

subtly we

can slip

into

legalism's

mindset?

How easy

delight in

the channels

of grace,

the way God

blesses us

and we

receive delight

for our

souls can

drift

into

duty.

You know,

that's one of

my favorite

Bible in a

year plans

that I do.

Many of you

might do

this one

as well

is by

a Scottish

pastor from

years and

years ago

called Robert

Murray

McShane.

He does

this Bible

in a

year

program and

it's a

wonderful thing

to try and

read the

Bible and

get scripture

into our

systems,

but here's

what he

perceived.

You can

read the

quote on

the screen.

Being a

good pastor

of people,

a student

of the

human heart,

is that he

always wrote

this in his

preface to

his much

loved and

used plan.

Do you see

it?

He writes,

some may

find conscience

dragging them

through the

appointed task

without any

relish of the

heavenly food.

If this be the

case with any,

throw aside the

fetter and

feed it liberty

in the sweet

garden of God.

And here's the

line,

my desire is

not to cast

a snare

upon you,

but to be a

helper of your

joy.

Friends,

we come to

God's word

not as a

duty,

but as a

child desperately

needing to

hear the

voice of the

father who

loves us.

And as a

deep sea

diver going

in search

of pearls,

do you see

the difference?

Paul's

telling them

there's more

than one way

to be a

slave.

More than

one way to

be a slave.

And of

course,

if you

think about

it,

it's

exactly the

strapline to

the parable

of the

prodigal

son.

You ever

thought about

that?

Which really

should be

called the

parable of

the seeking

father,

but we'll

run with

it.

The parable

of the

prodigal

son.

You know

the story?

Son number

one, Luke

15, runs

away, parties

hard.

Dad, I want

your money,

not you,

believing that

the good

life is to

be found

away from

the father.

That's one

form of

slavery.

But son

number two,

in that

parable, where

is son number

two the

whole time?

He's at

home.

But son

number one

returns.

He's shown

incredible

grace and

it comes

out of

son number

two, the

words, I've

been slaving

for you this

whole time.

In other

words, I

deserve you

love, I

deserve your

favor because

I've worked

for it.

And in the

sting of the

parable is

that both

sons miss

the father.

father.

It's just

another form

of slavery.

What's the

solution then?

We're going to

think more

about this in

the weeks to

come.

The solution

is not to

just try

really hard,

the opposite

of which is

just try not

really hard.

Neither of

those things

miss it.

To be

completely

secure in

the fact that

Jesus has

done it all

for us,

to be

completely

secure in

who he

is and

his love

for us.

That's what

transforms it.

Paul says

you were

running well,

take no

other view.

It's not

too late

for you to

say no to

legalism and

get back to

reveling in

who Jesus

is and your

unity to

him.

And let

God remind

us in his

word today

as we see

Paul writing

here at

verse

11,

that the

cross will

always be

an offense

to the

world.

Why?

Because it

took the

real death

of the

real Son

of God

on a

real Roman

cross to

deal with

my real

sin.

The cross

declares to

us that we

need a

saviour,

no matter

how good

you think

you are,

no matter

what you

try and

do with

your positive

mindset,

the cross

declares in

history that

you and I

cannot deal

with our

sin on

our own.

And if we

try and do

so outwith of

Jesus, the

wrath of God

remains on

us.

The cross

says no

matter what

you're doing,

no matter how

religious you

feel, you

need a

saviour.

and to

some that

will be the

smell of

death.

There will

have anything

to do with

that, but

to others

do you

see how

the fact

the cross

is the

very place

where we

find forgiveness

in life,

if only we

will humble

ourselves.

So let's

not be

surprised.

I always

find it in my

conversations with

people, you

can talk about

God, everyone's

happy with that,

but you start

talking about

Jesus and

things get a

little bit more

frosty.

And this text

tells you why.

You need a

saviour.

You need a

saviour.

And I think

that's what is

going on, if

you were

hanging in

there for

this, with

the emasculate

language there,

just in case

you're wondering.

Right at the

end there.

Now Paul's

playing on the

circumcision

language clearly.

You're thinking,

has the guy

lost the plot?

Is he just

having an

outburst of

anger,

frustration?

What's going

on here?

I think

there's

something

deeper going

on here.

In line

of that

chain of

thought about

needing a

saviour.

To

emasculate

oneself, to

remove the

male genitals,

would in

effect be

to become a

eunuch.

And the

law stated,

and remember

these guys are

all about the

law, keeping

the law,

the law

stated that a

eunuch was

someone who

was prohibited

from entering

the assembly

of the

Lord.

So to

become a

eunuch, if

they were to

go the

whole hog,

law keepers

that they

are, it

would become

obvious to

them, physically

obvious to

them, and

to everyone

who was

looking on,

that they

were not

inside,

but they

were outside

the presence

of God.

And they

would see

that they

need a

saviour.

So let me

just try and

land this,

friends, just

as we

close.

You know,

just a few

years back,

I remember

Alex and I

had a few

nights away

in North

Queensfield,

just the

other side

of the

bridge.

And for

the first

time in

our life,

we walked

across the

fourth road

bridge.

You ever

done that?

Walked across

the fourth

road bridge a

lot, lot

longer than

I thought

it was going

to be.

I thought

we'd be

there and

back in

an hour.

Boy, was

I wrong.

They've

closed down

that bridge

to cars,

haven't they?

And you

begin to

walk over

it and you

understand why.

Because it's

only open to

lorries now.

And we were

walking along

this bridge and

it was a

really peaceful

experience,

but every so

often a

lorry would

come past.

And it

felt like

the whole

bridge was

shaking.

And we

turned around

thinking there

was this

kind of

horde of

buses that

were coming

at the

back and

we turned

around and

see this

little

minivan.

And all

of a sudden

you realise

why they

felt the

need to

build this

new bridge

for all

the traffic.

And that

new bridge

you'll see

on the

screen is

joined

together by

three big

stone

towers.

And if

you're like

me and

you're geeky,

you go on

the bridges

website,

what you

will read

is that

to get

those towers

in place,

they drilled,

pumped concrete

down underneath

that bridge,

getting those

things in

place,

and it

took them

15 days

of drilling,

of making

sure the

foundations were

right,

because they

knew that

when the

wind comes,

and boy,

does it

come if you

cross that

bridge,

and the

storms come,

and the

ice

gathers,

and when

the waves

batter it,

and as the

traffic rallies

across it,

the bridge is

only going to

be able to

stand against

what comes

against it,

if it's

built on

a solid

foundation.

And this

is our

foundation as

believers.

Justification

by faith

alone.

Jesus has

done it

all.

Foundation.

Grace

alone,

faith

alone,

Christ

alone,

and the

thing is,

all sorts

of things

will come

at us

in life.

I've done

this job

long enough

now,

with some

of you

through the

most horrific

of things.

Illness,

bereavement,

redundancy,

recess,

disappointment,

persecution,

relational

breakdowns,

all of these

things will

come at us.

We're not

promised a

pain-free

life when

we follow

Jesus,

but if we

build our

lives here,

if we

stand firm

on this,

in the

end,

Christ the

solid rock,

friends,

we will

be

standing.

And so

Paul says,

verse 2,

mark my

words,

there's the

warning,

but here's

the imperative,

stand

firm then.

Remember your

foundation,

stand firm

then,

and do

not let

yourselves

be burdened

again

by a

yoke

of slavery.

let me

pray.

And so

Father,

we thank

you so

much today

that we

have your

ear,

we have

your heart,

because we

come to

you in the

name of

Jesus.

And so

Lord, I

pray that as

your word has

gone forth

today,

Father, I

pray that your

spirit would

be bringing

challenge,

would he be

bringing comfort,

would he be

bringing a

greater view

of the

sweetness of

Jesus and

the assurance

that we

now enjoy

and have

in him.

So Father, I

thank you that

your spirit is a

much better

pastor than I

could ever

hope to be.

And so I

pray that he

would be

applying this

truth today

right down

into our

souls,

into the

places where

we need to

hear this.

Thank you,

Lord, that

your word is

a solid

foundation

foundation.

Thank you

that you

tell us

things that

we just

wouldn't

believe are

true if

it weren't

the case,

that you

have spoken

them over

our lives.

And so

Father, we

pray that as

we finish our

time here

today, that

what we've

gazed at this

morning and

what we'll

build towards

as we work

towards the

end of this

letter would

resonate in

our minds

and our

hearts.

Thank you