"You [all] were running beautifully. Who hindered you by [the] truth to not being persuaded?"
-These Galatian believers were running well, Paul says. The Christian life can indeed be compared to a foot race, but no sprint, this. Ours is a distance race, a long obedience in the same direction, towards Jesus, our eyes focused on Him. More akin to a marathon. The New Testament writers are rather fond of employing this metaphor when talking about faith and following Jesus. We are - or should be - in a spiritual marathon race, running to win (1Corinthians 9.24), keeping our eyes fixed on the prize (Hebrews 12.1-2), surrounded by a multitude of spectators, angels and saints who've gone before us, cheering and urging us on to glory. A glorious finish!
-Like any marathon runner, to run and finish this race of faith we need copious amounts of fuel as well as fortitude - endurance, perseverance, the ability to push the body and mind to the outer limits and beyond. The thing about running, tho, is that there are so many factors which can affect the outcome, so many things which can be an encumbrance, a hindrance. Food, sleep, weather, shoes, health, injury, training schedule, motivation... These and other factors can play into one's ability to run in a marathon, not to mention finish it. Anything can happen. It is not at all uncommon to have done everything necessary to gain entrance into the race, you actually make it to the starting line and the gun goes off and you are running well enough when something happens, something begins to develop which hinders you from running well. And that is precisely what happened in this assembly in Galatia. Something happened. Or rather, someone. Paul apparently doesn't know who exactly, but some nameless Judaizer had come along and had disrupted their race. I imagine that Paul would have some choice words for them, but for now, he has these divinely-inspired words for these believers, and for us. Read on...
No comments:
Post a Comment