Free at Last: Galatians 4 Recap

slave:
/slāv/
(noun) - a person who is excessively dependent upon or controlled by something.

Galatians 4:8-9 says, "Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world?"

Paul is concerned for the Galatians because they used to be slaves, but they had been set free from slavery by God. But then, all of a sudden they started going back to their old ways.

Let's break this concept of slavery down. Slavery as we know it is someone who is controlled by another person. We also think that slavery is a thing of the past. But we still have slaves today. But there are more than 30 million slaves in the world today, more than at any other point in human history. Human slavery is not a thing of the past; it is consuming our world today. Every day, men, women, and children are forced to work with little or no pay, and women and children are forced into sexual trafficking scenarios.

Like the story of Debbie, who was taken from her own driveway, with her mother in the house. She was kidnapped by two men who held tied her up and taped her mouth and eyes. The men told her that they would shoot her if she screamed or cried out.

Paul is trying to get the Galatians to understand that when we were slaves to sin, we were like Debbie, completely under the control of her captors. Our sin was like our captors; it dictated everything we did. Our sin called the shots.

But like Debbie, if we have a relationship with Jesus then we have been set free from the controlling power of sin. Imagine after Debbie was set free, do you think there was ever a time that se wanted to go back to her captors? No way. Just like there should be no reason for us to return to a life of captivity by sin.

Let's look at v.12-16:

"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. Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth?"

It's easy to be distracted by the allure of sin, and stop focusing on God. But the first thing to do when we stop focusing on God is to take a look at our relationships. The way the Galatians treated Paul was a result of their relationship with God. It's hard to love others when we aren't loving the One who has taught us to love.

When we are enslaved by our selfish ways, we don't put others before ourselves and we don't consider the Kingdom of God before our own messed up world. Just like the anonymous letter from a restraunt employee to a youth pastor who had brought his reckless and destructive youth to her place of work. The woman had been struggling with Christianity and believing with God and after coming into contact with the inconsiderate youth group, she wanted nothing to do with the God they worshipped.

As Christians, people are watching you constantly. We are a living, breathing representation of the God we worship. When God's important to you, your actions show it.

So what are your actions showing others? Do you love God so much that everyone who comes in contact with you can see His presence in your life?