Galatians 4:12-20 – Stay the course

In these verses we can detect the hint of a deep concern that Paul had for the Galatians. Having chosen to take a different stand from Paul, the Galatians had given up their liberty in Christ. So he pleaded with them to emulate him and be free from legalism. When he told them, “… for I also have become as you are …,” he was referring to his earlier visits to them. During those times, though he was a Jew, yet he did not allow that to hinder him from freely mingling with them. And the Galatians accepted him wholeheartedly even though his health wasn’t at its peak. Paul even recounted how he was suffering an ailment that had affected his eyesight. The Galatians accepted him and loved him so much so that some would have even offered their eyes to help restore his eyesight if it was at all possible. 

Although Paul could have been a burden to them yet they did not mind that. They accepted him and bore with the inconvenience of nursing him. They even received him as an angel and as though he was Christ Himself. Paul verbalized his thoughts, asking what had caused the change of their hearts. Paul understood that the false teachers had influenced them and so they now gave him the cold shoulders. They even took offense with Paul’s openness with them, and chose deliberately to ignore his effort to turn them from their erroneous ways

In verses 17-20, we see contrasting attitudes between the false teachers and Paul. There is a hint that the false teachers had personal agendas and were endearing the Galatians to themselves for selfish purpose. Paul’s attitude toward them, however, was different. He only wanted their very best. He wanted to see Christ formed in them.  So he said that he travailed in prayers so that Christ might be formed in them again. To help them accomplish that, he was prepared to make the necessary sacrifices. The false teachers, on the other hand, only wanted to take advantage of them to dominate them.  

 

Praise God that He is continuously helping us to move toward maturity and spiritual adulthood. Let’s not flunk in appropriating the privilege and responsibility accorded through the grace of God. We must make being Christ-like our goal in life as we move closer to our destiny day by day! Meanwhile we need to be discerning and alert and not be taken in by the false teachings. Bear in mind that false teachings are usually camouflaged by some doctrines that seem sound.

Know that it’s the small incremental amount of spiritual poisons that are used to lace good spiritual food that is lethal. They slowly and subtly change our value and persuasion and cause us to depart from our completely sound doctrines. People who turn away from truth do so unwittingly. This is usually the process: false teachings are well presented to distract us from the truth. If we hear carefully, we will find that they subtract from the truth. On closer scrutiny, we will see the distortion that can lead to our digression from the truth we have stood for. Soon we will find ourselves departing from our tenets of true faith and then like Adam and Eve, we will soon sew suit of fig leaves to disguise our state of disarray. Be careful of spiritual food we ingest in this age of information overload!