“For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness” (Galatians 5:5).

Fantastic truth. I like how Tim Keller puts it, in Galatians For You:

Instead of striving for righteousness — an effort which is doomed to failure — Paul encourages the Galatians to simply ‘await… the righteousness for which we hope.’… Paul says that we simply await this righteousness. We don’t work or strive for it. We know it is coming, on its way. So we can wait eagerly, rather than anxiously.

What is it that we await? Righteousness means more than goodness; it is a completely right record and right relationship with God. Paul is saying that we can live today in light of our certain, guaranteed, future glorification and be welcomed by God into His arms, because we know that ‘since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.'”

It seems that in large part our spiritual discipline is to keep this righteousness at the forefront — the righteousness that is only in Christ, that is alien to us, that pushes us to live a life of hope in which we bear fruit. This is the gospel that frees us from both the guilt and slavery of sin, from both the condemnation and motivation to sin. May we daily, hourly, moment-by-moment be overwhelmed by it in gratitude and humility!