Imagine being the parent of a precious adopted child. At great expense, you redeem that child from a third-world orphanage where it was neglected and mistreated. With the sacrificial love of a parent, you raise and prepare your child for a life of freedom and success only to find them returning to the horror and mistreatment from whence they came.
That is the scene Paul describes. These Galatians were spiritually lost. They lived and functioned in a world that did not care for them and exploited them for personal gain. Paul came to them and led them into a personal relationship with the Heavenly Father. They were freed from sin and eternal separation from God. They were also freed from a life of conditional love and acceptance.
Now they were wandering back to the traditions and conditions of Judaism. Paul, as a loving spiritual parent, was incensed and heartbroken. He knew that they were being deceived by “believers”. He also knew that one is liberated by Christ’s sacrifice, not by anything one can do or accomplish. The Judaizers were acting like spiritual human traffickers and stealing young believers from the life of freedom that they received from the Lord.
When we accept the lord, we are freed from the slavery of sin and death. The enemy and the world have us believe, however, that we must perform some rules or level of perfection to receive or keep our salvation. Paul reminds us that as children of God, religious checklists are an invitation back into slavery. We should recognize the lie and stay as far away from it as possible!
God only asks that we accept the free gift of salvation and follow His lead to a full and meaningful life on earth and eternity with Him in Heaven! Jesus said it best in John 10:10: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and [a]have it abundantly.”
God Bless You
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Now I say, as long as the heir is a [a]child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is [b]owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and [c]managers until the date set by the father. 3 So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the [d]elemental things of the world. 4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under [e]the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under [f]the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir [g]through God.
8 However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless [h]elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years. 11 I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored [i]over you in vain.
Walking With God 