Thoughts on Galatians 4:15

In Scripture, the Christian life is sometimes described as a race (Heb. 12:1; 1 Cor. 9:24). When Christ draws people to himself, and they accept the wonderful gift of grace they are, in effect, entering into a race. Typically, we see two types of runners. The first type enters the race, darts for the starting line and sprints as fast as they possibly can thinking they have entered the 100 yard dash. They are not pleased when they stop at the 100 yard mark, gasping for air, only to realize that the race they have entered is a marathon. The second type of runner enters the race, goes and sits down on the grass to stretch his previously unused muscles, and stays there for years, thinking he’s not quite limber enough yet to start running. I fell into the second category. From the sound of verse 15, the Galatians fell into the first.

Paul is asking them “What the heck happened?” While he was among them they were so eager to serve the cause of Christ. Paul says “if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me.” The Galatians had been sprinting, and now, exhausted, were taking advice on how to run this marathon from the Judaizers. They may as well have been taking advice from Hugh Hefner on monogamy.