Begin with two minutes of stillness and silence before God.

I just love how Scripture always has a lesson from major flops. It seems like every teaching moment is introduced with “remember that time” and wrapped up with a “don’t be like that guy.”

In this passage, Paul uses the example of Abraham to highlight the difference between living in bondage versus living in freedom.

God promised Abraham that a great nation would be born of his bloodline, yet many years after this promise, he and his wife, Sarah, remained unable to conceive. How was God supposed to make a great nation from Abraham if He wasn’t blessing their family with descendants? In desperation, Sarah suggested that Abraham conceive a child with her maidservant, Hagar. When Hagar became pregnant, it would have seemed as though all would be just as they had wanted, and this “problem” would have been solved. What could possibly go wrong? Well, quite a lot actually. Though intended to make things better, this pregnancy triggered a cascade of events that were fueled by jealousy, malice, and pain.

Hagar gave birth to a son named Ishmael, and though God used Ishmael’s story for good, this was not the start of the nation that God had promised. Many years later, Sarah gave birth to Issac, the son that Abraham had been promised decades before. From Issac, God did exactly what He said He would do: He built a great nation.

When Paul tells the Galatians that they are living as children of slavery, he is drawing a comparison to Hagar and how in her story, we see Abraham and Sarah trying to fix things to be the way they like it. Paul continues to call out the Galatians in this passage, speaking of how they essentially were worshiping the law and not the Lord. Though they had everything looking good from the outside, they were missing the importance of true relationship and trust, just as in this story of Abraham. However, when he speaks of being children of freedom, he highlights how the Lord continued to be faithful in Abraham with Sarah’s lives with the birth of Issac. Though it took longer and didn’t happen on their timeline, God was present and moving all the while. There was never a need to hurry or find an alternate route to His promise, He was always going to see it through.

We often think of mastery of religion as spiritual maturity. We convince ourselves that the goal is to know more and do more of what we know to be the “right thing.” Sometimes, we even try to force ourselves into some set of rules or steps in order to be considered “good Christians” and have things just the way we like them: shiny and neat. In reality, true spiritual maturity is wrapped in a relationship and trust that God will always make good on His promises, just as He did in the story of Abraham.

Take two minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• In what areas of your life have you allowed the rules or expectations of being a “good Christian” to affect your walk with the Lord?
  
• In what ways have you noticed that these rules and expectations have hindered your spiritual growth?
  
• What is one practice that you can implement today to help you shift your mindset from following rules to building a meaningful relationship with the Lord? Be specific.
• Prayer: God, I am sorry for caring so much about how things look to other people. I understand that so much of my time spent in church has been focused on what I’m doing rather than who I’m doing it for. Change my mindset, Lord, and change my heart so that I may grow closer to You. I thank You for loving me and desiring a relationship with me. Help me to chase after You in all that I do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.