Abandoned by the Galatians

It seems that in the early days of his ministry, Paul had a close relationship to the community in Galatia. They trusted each other, so Paul must have been somewhat surprised when they abandoned him and took up with the Judaizers.

Learning From Past Mistakes

The tone in his letter is somewhat pleading as he urges them to recall the earlier times. They had received him “as an angel of God” and now he was begging for their loyalty. Paul was once a devout Jew, much like the Judaizers. His ambitious behavior and former way of life persecuting Christians proved to be tragically misguided. Paul now strongly implies that the false teachers in Galatia were making the same mistake he made before he met Jesus on the way to Damascus. The encounter left him blinded for three days.

Embracing Paul

In this chapter, Paul refers to a physical condition (4:13) which must have been horrible enough for people to take pity on him. In his letters, he writes of his deformities and illnesses. He may have been visually impaired or handicap. It is easy to feel the pain in his words yet he reminds his followers to embrace the message of the Gospel and to live like Jesus. We should be reminded of the same.