Galatians | Week 8
LIVE AS I DO
Paul says in Galatians 4:12, “Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things.” He’s basically saying, follow me….live like I live. Who does this guy think he is!? What is it about people that compels us to follow them?
The top most followed people in social media all have extraordinary talent and larger than life personalities which might explain what compels us to follow them.
But the thing is, that is NOT what Paul is talking about here when he says to live like I do. In fact, he says that he was sick when he was with them, and even in his weak condition, the Galatians didn’t reject him, which maybe they would have been tempted to do. After all, how many of us intentionally follow people we think are weak? He’s not pleading with the church in Galatia as a means to point them to himself, as he argues the Judaizers are doing. Paul is ultimately pointing them to Christ because following Jesus is the only way to live a free life.
When we give our allegiance anything besides Jesus, the results can be anxiety, self-doubt and slavery. But when we follow Christ, when His strength is made perfect in our weakness, we have the opportunity to experience the life that Christ died for.
Weekly Challenge
Paul says that the sign he saw in the Galatians when they were living free was “a joyful and grateful spirit.” If that’s the barometer for freedom, let’s use it this week to measure just how freely we are living.
Questions for Reflection
- Who would you say that you follow that exerts the most influence in your life?
- What do you think we need to set aside if we are going to give our allegiance fully to Jesus ?
- How does having an intimate knowledge of Jesus aid us in giving those things up?
Further Study
Read Romans 16:17-20. Paul begins this chapter with greetings to many of the faithful in Rome. But in verses 17-20 he presents a request and warns the Roman church against following certain false teachers. See if you can relate to the warning signs of such false teachers as they might appear today in our culture.