Day 4
Lisa Scheffler, author
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My dad had a way of looking at you when he was trying to make a point. He’d tilt his chin down, look at you over the top of his glasses, and set his gaze. You knew what he was about to say was important and that you needed to stop and listen. He often had wisdom to share, and sometimes that wisdom involved a warning.
I envision my Dad’s look when I read these verses from Galatians.
Read
Galatians 4:4-7
17 Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them. 18 It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you. 19 My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, 20 how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!
What warning does Paul include here?
Why do you think Paul uses an image of childbirth?
Reflect
Paul wants the Galatians to return to the true gospel, so they can enjoy their freedom in Christ as God’s children and heirs. He cares for them, but he has no warm feelings towards those who have deceived and confused these believers.
Paul’s opponents have called his motives into question, and Paul responds by questioning theirs. They wanted to persuade the Galatians, but for no good purpose. Their goal was to alienate these believers from Paul by stirring them up and moving them to wrong action.
Passion and zeal are good according to Paul, but not when it’s expended for the wrong thing. As in Paul’s day, there are a lot of passionate people in our world working hard for worthless, or even dangerous causes. We want to channel our zeal for the cause of Christ and the good of others.
Paul finishes his plea with a striking image — a mother in the pains of childbirth. As N.T. Wright explains it, Paul “feels like a mother who, after giving birth, finds herself going through labour pains all over again, watching her children struggle to become the mature adults they were supposed to be.”[1] Paul wants the Galatians to come to maturity in Christ, to live in the freedom that Jesus provides.
Paul wanted to see the image of Christ formed in them, and for that transformation to affect the way they lived as his children and heirs. As McKnight describes it, “This would be a life of the Spirit, not the law; it would be centered in Christ, not Moses; it would be the universalism of the Abrahamic promise, not the nationalism of the Judaizing view of the Mosaic law.”[2]
Paul finishes this section by expressing his wish to be with the Galatians and make things right. After a year where most of us had to communicate remotely from those we love, we can relate to Paul’s desire to be face to face. He knows that this letter is a poor substitute for an in-person conversation, so he’s trying to communicate the urgency of his concern for them as best he can.
N.T. Wright makes a helpful observation about Paul’s appeal here in these verses, and includes some advice for all of us:
“This is a direct appeal to the loyalty of friendship. Theological argument is important; but unless it takes place within a context where people are bonded together in mutual trust and shared Christian experience, it will only reach the head, not the heart, and probably not the will.”[3]
[1] Wright, 55.
[2] Scot McKnight, Galatians, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995), 221.
[3] Wright, 54.
Respond
People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
It’s a cliché, but one that’s repeated for a reason — there is truth behind it! Discussions about faith are best had in the context of relationship. People don’t want to feel like they’ve been wrangled into a debate that we’re trying to win. That’s one reason why at Christ Fellowship our vision rests on creating space for meaningful conversations, where people can experience Christ through us. We want people to know that we care before we share what we know. Pray for the Spirit to give you opportunities for these meaningful conversations.
