Choices.....

Galatians 4:21-31 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? [22] For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. [23] His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise.
[24] These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. [25] Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. [26] But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. [27] For it is written:

"Be glad, O barren woman,
who bears no children;
break forth and cry aloud,
you who have no labour pains;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband."

[28] Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. [29] At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. [30] But what does the Scripture say? "Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son." [31] Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

Again this seems to be quite a difficult passage, but remember why Paul is using these Old Testament stories. He wants to show the Galatians that they do not need to be bonded to their old way of life under the Law, but they can enjoy a new relationship with God under the Lordship of Jesus, and that this new way is better! Paul reinforces this by using the images of slavery and freedom.

At the end of the passage he applies this to the Galatians situation. First he reminds them that they are ‘children of the promise’, that as they have accepted Jesus’ message of grace by faith they are children of God. Then he reminds them that this means that they may face opposition. In Abraham’s family there eventually was unbearable conflict in his household between the two women and their children. It was resolved when God told Abraham to send Hagar and her son away. God then blessed them separately, but his promise was carried on through Isaac. Here Paul is using this to illustrate an important choice that the Galatians must make.

With the arrival of the ‘false brothers’ in the churches, with their message standing in opposition to the good news of the Gospel, the Galatians look set for a time of conflict in which their communities could be torn apart. This is often what can happen when we have conflicts of opinion – they spill over, become personal, and our own communities can suddenly be divided. It can happen for all sorts of reasons. For Paul, keeping churches together was important, and to do this he frequently reminded them of what lay at the heart of their faith – belief in Jesus Christ. Paul believed Jesus’ message was for all – but he would oppose anyone who corrupted that message, including the false brothers.

So the Galatians have a choice – put up with conflict and division or stamp it out now. Paul hasn’t said it directly till now, but by comparing their situation to Abraham’s, and reminding them of Abraham’s choice, he is telling them that to sort out their problem they must have no more to do with the false brothers….

Sometimes, in order to stay faithful to what we believe, we need to make hard choices. Are there tough choices that your faith community needs to make in order to stay faithful to God? What happens if faithfulness to the Gospel seems to stand in contradiction to the inclusiveness of the Gospel message?