Daily Devotional for Wednesday, January 15

The Rebuke

"But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?" Galatians 4:9.

As parents, we have always said we want our children to love the Lord with all their hearts, serve Him faithfully and be contributing, responsible adults in society. They will be adults for a lot longer than they were children, so we try to guide them with that in mind; however, even with the best intentions and instructions, our children will make choices contrary to how they were taught. An extremely trivial example of this is when my children put away the dishes. I have taught them how to organize, categorize and store our dishes, tools, utensils and gadgets so that when anyone needs something it will easily accessed. After years of everything having a place, I still find myself yelling from the kitchen, "CHILDREN! Where did you put the can opener?"

This is the sentiment I get in verse 11 in which Paul told the Galatians he was afraid he had discipled them "in vain." The churches in and around Galatia were made up of new Christians from all backgrounds. When Paul was with them, he taught them the gospel and about their freedom in Christ. After a while, he heard that there were some trying to alter the gospel. Up to this point, Paul spoke primarily to the Jewish believers and warned against clinging to the Law and imposing it on new believers as a way to keep their salvation. He then turned his message toward the Gentile believers in verse 8. Before they knew God, they kept the rituals and practices of pagan religions. I can almost see Paul throwing up his hands as a parent would do, asking them why he even taught them about their freedom in Christ if they were just going to turn back to vain, ritualistic practices. He wanted them to continue in faith rather than return to religious works as away of salvation.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

May we be steadfast in our message of the gospel of grace through faith in the Lord Jesus.

Ashley Ridings