Ups and Downs - Galatians 4:8-20

4:8-9 - If we consider our relationship with God as that of Father and child, we can look at Paul’s questions in a more understandable light. But then again, I don’t know what it’s like to have a healthy relationship with a dad, so I don’t necessarily think I could make it make sense to anyone else because I don’t understand it myself. But Paul does ask the Galatians to consider what “nature” they served before they knew God. For me, I would have to say that I mostly served addiction and depression when I didn’t have God in my life. The addiction is pretty much in check, but kept on a tight leash. The depression, well, it’s a daily battle, but I’m doing much better. It’s taken many years, but I’ve been able to develop coping strategies that allow me to stop when something comes to my mind that isn’t true. For instance, if I think “I’m so worthless,” I can stop myself and say, “that’s not true and you know it. You’re not worthless, you’re just feeling like no one values you right now. Jesus values you, even though it can be hard to see it sometimes.” I saw this thing about Gen X-ers the other day and part of it said something like, “back when we were kids, mental health was not addressed at all, so most of us had to come up with our own coping mechanisms, and we’re old enough that any unhealthy strategy would have killed us by now.” This is in reference to drug abuse, alcoholism, etc. All this is to say that the “nature” or “demons” that I served have slowly been held at bay because of my relationship with Christ. Paul’s next question is, basically, me asking myself, “now that you know God, how is it that you want to abandon him and go back to your old ways?” I’m not going to lie, this is something that I still ask myself, even after all this time, all this commitment, all this effort to come closer to Christ and all the gifts and knowledge and peace that he’s given me. Even after all this, I still sometimes look at aspects of my old life with longing and nostalgia. I know where I was spiritually back then and I know where I am spiritually now, and even understanding the difference in peace and happiness and confidence, I’m STILL sometimes like, “it wouldn’t be that bad to just go back to this one part.” Looking at it objectively here, it sounds absolutely insane to think that starting to party again or all these “beggarly elements” would do anything but put me right back into the “bondage” of unhappiness, addiction, and despair. But still sometimes, I think, “what if?” and it is very toxic. 4:10-11 - It seems like specifically part of what these gentile Christian converts were starting to do were to “observe days, and months, and times, and years.” The article on this chapter from gospeldoctrine.com quotes Bruce R. McConkie as saying, “These Galatians… were leaving the gospel for the practices and rituals of the Mosaic law… the various feasts, fasting periods, and sabbatical years which were part of the worship of ancient Israel.” It must have been difficult for the gentile converts to have varying groups of Jewish “converts” try to teach them different aspects of the law of Moses and insist that it be followed. It would have been hard to know who to follow in Paul’s absence, especially considering that these Jewish Christians could have just shown up and taught them things that seemed just as legitimate because they would have been just as unfamiliar with the concepts of Judaism as they were with Christianity in the beginning. This unfamiliarity might have allowed them to be vulnerable to those who conveyed a sense of confidence in their teachings, even if they were wrong. 4:12-16 - Paul reminds them of the vast amount of effort that he has committed to them and asks them to remember what they felt when he first taught them the gospel. We get some insight into what happened on Paul’s first missionary visit to the area of Galatia, and it’s really interesting. Apparently, when Paul was there the first time, Paul had some sort of “infirmity of the flesh” that he had to work through in order to preach the gospel to them. And even though he was sick, the people who were ready to hear his message, neither “despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.” Despite whatever physical debilitations that Paul had to deal with during this time, the people were so grateful for the gospel message that they saw past whatever physical things he was dealing with and saw him as an angel. Their joy was to the point that “if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.” That’s a pretty intense sentiment, and I don’t know if that means that Paul’s affliction had to do with his eyes specifically or if he’s just using that as a frame of reference. That’s a crazy level of commitment to a teacher or a cause. But he asks now, “remember that joy you felt when you learned the gospel? That level of love for me for bringing you the message? Are we enemies now, even though the message hasn’t changed?” This is a good example of “it we used to agree and now disagree but my stance hasn’t changed, then who moved?” The IM comments, “Paul reminded the Galatian Saints of how well they had received him earlier. The question at the beginning of verse 15 could be paraphrased in this way: ‘What has happened to the joy your once spoke of?’ They had once received Paul and his teachings with great happiness, as if he were an angel, but that happiness was now gone. The Jewish-Christian teachers who had led the Galatian Saints astray had opposed Paul and imposed the burdens of the Mosaic law upon the people, leading to a loss of happiness. The gospel of Jesus Christ, on the other hand, is meant to bring lasting joy.” I think like most things, spirituality comes in waves, like sometimes you’re are on top of the world and vibing with the Spirit in amazing ways and then sometimes it’s just not as strong or it’s just different. I don’t know if it’s like this for everyone or if it’s just me, and the degrees to which we vary is highly individual, so I can see the reasoning behind someone not being as over the moon thrilled years later as they were when they first received the gospel. Being in a constant state of joy is not realistic because real life comes back. We have to go back to work, we have to pay bills, we have to go back to interacting with people who have their own problems and behave poorly and treat you bad. It’s not all rainbows and sunshine, but the point is, as you start trying to live your normal life intentionally as a disciple of Christ, it’s difficult and you have to rely on those moments of joy received earlier to remind you why you’re doing this. It’s also an amazing time to learn from the Spirit because he’ll teach you truths and coping skills that allow you to move forward more easily in your life and to see the gospel as a blessing. So, it’s not a surprise that the new Christians, especially those who came from less demanding religions, were not maintaining a top level of excitement for the gospel as they were when they first received it. Its life, life is hard, and trying to adapt a new belief system into an old life take effort and sometimes feels overwhelming. It’s at those times when it’s important to look back at the positive experiences that you’ve had to sustain your purpose and motivation. 4:17-21 - If the people now see Paul as an enemy, when they considered him an angel only a little while ago, then we have to look at the motivations of the people who are encouraging their opinion shift and Paul does exactly that. Those people who were leading the new gentile Christians away from Paul and the gospel, weren’t doing it because they genuinely believed that Paul was wrong and they knew a better way to peace and happiness. Usually people who are trying to guide others to happiness don’t use tactics that alienate other people. They don’t usually disparage their rivals, because if their message is true and positive, then the words and deeds speak for themselves, they don’t need to destroy other people or their beliefs in order to gain a following. That’s not to say that they can’t point out what they view to be incorrect, but they don’t do it in a way that personally denigrates the other person. Paul motes that these “leaders” are trying to take control of the others, but by doing so the new converts are going to be excluded from the blessings of the gospel. He doesn’t say, “these guys are stupid and they can’t read good,” but instead, “their motivations to have you as followers isn’t for your good. Paul points out that, he himself “travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you.” The article quotes Bruce R. McConkie as noting, “Paul again suffers anxiety and distress as he labors for the spiritual rebirth of those who once before were born against through his teachings and testimony.” Paul wants the people to see that the those who are teaching them that the law of Moses needs to be obeyed might have nefarious motivations, where as he personally is in distress about their spiritual welfare. It’s kind of like, “look at the difference between what we do for you. One group wants to control you and deprive you of the blessings of the gospel, and I am worried about your well being and want you to stay strong in the gospel so you can be happy.” The other difference, and probably the biggest difference is that the others are basing their beliefs on rules and obedience and Paul is basing all of this teachings on Jesus Christ.