—Galatians 4.12–20—

¹² I plead with you, brothers and sisters, become like me, for I became like you. You have done me no wrong. ¹³ As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. ¹⁴ Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. ¹⁵ What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. ¹⁶ Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? 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!

A sickly stranger comes stumbling into town with nobody to turn to. Helping hands are extended. Wounds are dressed, an illness is cured, healing is acomplished, and one sick man’s trial yields deeper healing, Godly healing, for many.

This was Paul’s situation in Galatia. His language indicates that his purpose in coming to Galatia had something to do with his broken body. Today we can only speculate what his ailment may have been, but regardless of the problem notice how God turned Paul’s trial toward His purposes.

Imagine the surprise of the Galatian caretakers when their broken down patient, certainly grateful for their services, revealed himself as the passionate, truth-speaking servant of Christ Jesus that he was. The tables were turned. The patient had become the healer and the healer the patient. To receive such a harshly worded letter as this from one to whom they had so lovingly tended, for whom they “would have torn out their eyes”, must have been hard to swallow.

But the truth transcends Galatian defensiveness. They needed someone to keep them grounded in the narrow path that Jesus blazed toward God, even when strong words were necessary.

We all still desperately need this remedy.

—Galatians 4.8–11—

⁸ Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. ⁹ But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? ¹⁰ You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! ¹¹ I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.


Back when I was an undergrad, I coached an intramural flag football team. One of the guys on the team was very fast and had really good hands, so it was natural that he would be a receiver. The only downfall was that he was about 5 feet 5 inches tall. Our quarterback was only about 5 feet 7 inches, so he had trouble seeing him on long routes.

As we got into games, I felt that a player with his talents should be getting more catches than he was getting. So, during practice one afternoon, I worked really hard on teaching him to run short routes across the field rather than long routes down the field and then use his speed to evade the defenders. We worked and worked and worked on it, and he seemed to catch on. But, in the next game, he went right back to running the deep routes.

It doesn’t feel good to put in all that time into someone and then have him or her go back to the old ways. Paul feels this way about the churches in Galatia. They had seemingly made so much progress, only to end up falling into the same things they did before they became Christians.

What is an area that you have lost some ground in? What do you need to do to regain it?

—Galatians 4.1-7—

¹ What I am saying is that as long as heirs are underage they are no different from slaves, although they own the whole estate. ² They are subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by their fathers. ³ So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. ⁴ But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. ⁶ Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." ⁷ So you are no longer slaves, but God's children; and since you are his children, he has made you also heirs.


I was once lost and a slave to this world
No purpose was found in my life
He was my father and wanted to give me everything
Everything in the world held me in bondage
Redemption was what God offered me through his son
I said I believed and asked for forgiveness
The Holy Spirit came upon me because of the sacrifice of my lord
And a new life began
Now I am God’s heir
Certain of the inheritance of heaven
Eternal life with him

If you have not found him yet, he is waiting…
Ask God into your heart and receive his full inheritance.