Galatians - A 12 Day DevotionalSample

Paul says in Galatians 4:12, “Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things.” He’s basically saying, follow me….live like I live. Who does this guy think he is!?  What is it about people that compels us to follow them?

The top most followed people in social media all have extraordinary talent and larger than life personalities which might explain what compels us to follow them.

But the thing is, that is NOT what Paul is talking about here when he says to live like I do. In fact, he says that he was sick when he was with them, and even in his weak condition, the Galatians didn’t reject him, which maybe they would have been tempted to do. After all, how many of us intentionally follow people we think are weak? He’s not pleading with the church in Galatia as a means to point them to himself, as he argues the Judaizers are doing. Paul is ultimately pointing them to Christ because following Jesus is the only way to live a free life.

When we give our allegiance anything besides Jesus, the results can be anxiety, self-doubt and slavery. But when we follow Christ, when His strength is made perfect in our weakness, we have the opportunity to experience the life that Christ died for.