Pastor Karen's devotion for February 5

Here is Pastor Karen's devotion today:

Good afternoon!

Today is my middle son, Jacob’s, 22nd birthday!

Like other mothers, I will never forget the day he was born—and the hope that filled my heart as we waited for his appearance. Those hours of labor seemed like forever.

I knew that he would be the child I prayed for—the child I had longed for. When I first held him in my arms, it was like I had been holding my breath for years and could finally let it go. I just stared and stared at him. Big blue-green eyes. Auburn hair standing straight up in the air.

But with his birth—the birth of my second child—my life would never be the same. As every mother will admit, my anxious hopes for him and his older brother filled my thoughts and my days. One child kept me busy. Two little ones were often overwhelming!

It’s funny how the apostle Paul in Galatians 4:12-20 uses the metaphor of a mother in the pains of labor when he writes to the church at Galatia. All his love and hopes for the church are fueling his frustration with their walking away from being the loving people Christ has called them to be.

Paul writes of his displeasure with the church embroiled in conflict and no longer respecting Paul as their teacher/spiritual mentor:

“What has become of the goodwill you felt? For I testify that, had it been possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? They make much of you, but for no good purpose; they want to exclude you, so that you may make much of them. It is good to be made much of for a good purpose at all times, and not only when I am present with you. My little children, for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, I wish I were present with you now and could change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.”

We only have one letter of Paul’s to the Galatians. It would be nice to know if they ever worked out their differences and whether they continued on as a church of Jesus Christ—as people with “Christ formed in (them),” as Paul puts it.

But I think that is how it is meant to be—that we would have this one letter to be an encouragement and a warning to all of us to do all we can to maintain the unity of our Church Universal. The letter is meant to remind us all that we are supposed to be One Body, loving and forgiving one another and seeking to be peacemakers. If we are not One Body, not united in Christ, then we are not following the loving ways of Jesus Christ—and the image of Christ is not yet formed in us.

Paul had anxious hopes for the people who embraced the gospel he had proclaimed. And it broke his heart when they allowed conflict and egoism to threaten not just the unity but the very survival of this church that he loved as much as a mother loves her newborn baby.

What can you do today, my friends, to build up your church and the wider Church of Jesus Christ? Can you encourage another brother or sister in the faith? Can you seek to be a peacemaker when conflict arises in your church?

Will you pray for the unity of the wider Church—pray that all those who have been hurt by a brother or sister in the faith can let go of their hurts and forgive for Christ’s sake and the sake of unity in His Body?

Let us pray together.

Lord, thank you for our children, who are such a blessing to us! Thank you for Jacob! Please bless him with your joy and peace and draw him closer to you. Thank you for your gift of love that fills our hearts to overflowing. Thank you for your salvation through your Son, Jesus Christ. Help us to be peacemakers, actively working towards unity in the Body of believers in this community and around the globe. Forgive us when we have held onto hurts instead of just letting them go and forgiving in obedience to your Word. Help us to walk in your loving ways, building up our brothers and sisters in the faith and allowing the Spirit to continue its transforming work in our hearts and minds, without our pride getting in the way. In Christ we pray. Amen.