Galatians 1:6 "The Deserters"
Meditations in Galatians #2 Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Galatians 1:6 "The Deserters"
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"I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel."
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Father, please so walk with me that I never desert you for any reason,. Help me to know all that these words reveal. I am amazed that Paul was amazed. He really was caught off guard by this. Later on, he still talks about being puzzled by the actions of the believers at Galatia. Paul knew that he had made clear what Jesus' death accomplished, and exactly what the gentile converts were expected to do. He had only recently come from Jerusalem with the document approved by the Apostles in Jerusalem (Acts 15). There should not have been any doubt in their minds, yet someone had convinced several of the new believers to adapt the literal implementation of Moses' laws (on a selective basis). I know Paul will explain more about this later, but I think I understand what he feels. Even Paul knew what it was like to pour his heart into someone, only to find out that they, perhaps through good intentions, had undermined everything he had tried to accomplish. So, I guess even the best of Your servants can feel like a failure sometimes.
Paul told them they were literally "deserting" you. I wonder what they thought of that. It seems to me that what they had done wrong, they did with good intentions. What they did was costly, even sacrificial, and they really did it only because they wanted to please You, yet it was exactly what You did not want. Lord, I know this happens all the time! It happens a lot to me! People try to help, and yet, what I really want for them is somehow outside of the box for them. It is so painful for us to learn that we cannot control how we are needed. I want to please others, but I have no control over what it is they actually want. And it can be a disaster if I pay a heavy price to give something to someone, only to find out they couldn’t care less about the gift I painstakingly provided for them. That must have been a part of the shock some of the Galatian believers felt. Father, If I, or anyone I know, ever drift away from You, even if it feels like I am actually doing Your will in the process, please send me a Paul who will not hold back the truth from me.
Please teach me more about what it means that You have “called” me, and exactly how it is that You have called me “by Jesus’ grace.” I think I am beginning to see how easy it is to mess things up between You and me without really knowing what I am doing. Maybe, if I understand this idea of “calling” and “Jesus’ grace” better, I’ll be less likely to let my efforts to please You become THE problem.