Galatians 18-Day Reading Planنموونە

When a mother becomes pregnant with her child she begins to live with expectation for the birth of her baby. From the first doctor’s visit, to hearing the baby's heartbeat, to picking out items for the nursery she’s living with expectation! Morning sickness and labor pains are numbed by the impending joy that will come when holding her new baby.

I'm sure most parents can agree that it's much easier to become a parent than it is being a parent.

Being a parent brings responsibilities like diapers, cooking dinner, helping with algebra homework, sickness, disobedience, bullying, your child’s first girlfriend or worse, boyfriend. As a parent you have this consistent and constant connection to these little humans that you love so dearly. One moment you would give your own eyesight to save theirs, to another moment when you can feel totally betrayed. Before Jesus we were committed to a set of rules and laws that were a constant and very present reminder of our inability to meet the requirements of the law. 

“Oh, my dear children!” is Paul’s plea in v19 to the Galatians who are straying away from the truth to follow false teachers, and useless spiritual principles. Paul is feeling the real pain of witnessing those he cares deeply for walking away from freedom in Christ, back into bondage of religion, choosing burden over freedom. 

It is through rejection, discouragement, and difficult seasons we must live as Paul suggests in (v.15) with a joy and grateful Spirit. Some people would suggest “tough love” or more rules, but Paul is saying to remember that feeling when you first heard the good news of Jesus. Continue to walk in freedom from religion, rules and false teaching by being the example of Jesus to those we love.

 In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul told the Corinthian church to, “Follow me as I follow Christ” and here (v12) he pleads with the Galatian people to “live as I do”. Paul wasn't trying to build a following of his own, but he was urging people to live out the examples of the ways of Jesus as he did. Just like faithful parents and Paul, our best strategy for leading others and ourselves to freedom found in Christ is faithfully and joyfully following Jesus ourselves. 

Questions

Do you allow circumstances to affect your actions? Are you tempted to apply restrictions, boundaries, and barriers to help prove that you are working hard to do good? When life is tough and burdensome can you find joy knowing you have freedom is Jesus?