March 23, 2023
Those false teachers are so eager to win your favor, but their intentions are not good. They are trying to shut you off from me so that you will pay attention only to them. If someone is eager to do good things for you, that’s all right; but let them do it all the time, not just when I’m with you. Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives. I wish I were with you right now so I could change my tone. But at this distance I don’t know how else to help you.
Thought:
The false teachers claimed to be religious authorities and experts in Judaism and Christianity. Appealing to the believer’s desire to do what was right, they drew quite a following. False teachers are often respectable, persuasive, and believable. Paul said, however, that they were wrong and that their motives were selfish. He knows the false teachers only want followers for themselves. Paul wants followers of Jesus. They want to use the Galatians. Paul wants Jesus to save the Galatians.
Paul’s love for the Galatians is evident as he refers to them as brothers and children—tender words from a loving father. He felt deep concern for his spiritual children; he even compared his pain over their faithlessness to the pain of childbirth. Paul is laboring for Christ to be formed in them. That’s the heart of a true spiritual leader. He doesn’t want fame or fortune or followers for himself. The Spirit-led leader cares only about Jesus and his glory, and he communicates that with both loving tenderness and firm truth.
Application:
1. Do you check all teaching and information you receive against the true Gospel and the Word of God? How can you be more Spirit-led as you discern the truth?
2. Do your friends and family with whom you discuss the gospel know you love them, and that’s why you boldly speak into their lives? Do your words match Paul’s both in tenderness and firmness?