A CHANGE OF HEART

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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles—free from those laws.

You did not mistreat me when I first preached to you. Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News. But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself.

Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then?

I am sure you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if it had been possible.

Galatians 4:12-15 NLT

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The Judaizers, who had invaded and adversely influenced the Christian churches in Galatia, had promoted a modified Gospel from the one Paul had brought, a Gospel that the Galatian believers were buying into. This perverted version of the Gospel required that the old Jewish Law be complied with in addition to belief in Jesus in order for salvation to be gained from God.

This caused a quandary for the Galatian Christians who were forced to choose between the past teaching of Paul and the present proposal of the Judaizers, a quandary Paul attempts to speak into through this New Testament letter that we are studying.

In today’s passage from the fourth chapter, we find the Apostle reminding the Galatians about their attitude toward him when he had visited and established the very churches they worshiped in. Look again at his words here:

Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles—free from those laws.

You did not mistreat me when I first preached to you. Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News. But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself.

Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then?

I am sure you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if it had been possible. Galatians 4:12-15.

As Paul discusses the time he visited Galatia, we learn that he had fallen ill when he brought the Gospel to that region. There isn’t any specific reference to what the malady was but it’s obvious that the Galatian believers could have simply rejected Paul just because of his sick state. There was a temptation present to reject him.

But that didn’t happen. The new believers in Galatia embraced Paul and cared for him as if he was Jesus or an angel. They held such compassion for the Apostle that they would have been willing to exchange their good health for his if it would mean that he might be healed.

That was where things were when Paul had been in Galatia but now things were different. The Christians in Galatia, who had been so dedicated to Paul and the good news of salvation through Christ and Christ alone, had now abandoned the true Gospel for the distorted teachings of the Judaizers. This led to Paul’s question:

“Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then?”

In other words, Paul was essentially asking, “What happened?” or you could also say he wanted to know, “Why the change of heart?”

These are open-ended, thought-provoking questions, ones that would invoke self reflection.

Perhaps we can hear our Lord asking us the same questions as we approach a new year, questioning the times when we have shown ourselves unfaithful to Him, and we all have been guilty of this. During our times of failure, perhaps we should hear God asking us, “What happened? Why the change of heart?”

Like Paul, the questions work to bring us back to where we need to be, to the place of Jesus and full obedience to God and His word and will.

After all, isn’t that where we’re supposed to be as Christians?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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