David Bahn – Reflections

Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. ¹³ You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, ¹⁴ and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. ¹⁶ Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? ¹⁷ They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. ¹⁸ It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, ¹⁹ my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! ²⁰ I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

Saul of Tarsus was thrown to the ground on his way to Damascus take followers of Jesus to prison. His mission was to shut down the spread of the gospel of Jesus. Then, he makes his way from place to place throughout the Roman Empire spreading the Gospel of Jesus. And that not without much suffering, trial, and struggle. As he turns the page on this letter to the Galatians he refers also to the suffering he endured as he brought the gospel also to them.

Before going further into that, Paul makes a very important point. He says, “Become as I am, for I also have become as you are.” He is urging the Galatians to embrace the freedom in Christ that he himself has embraced. He has set aside Jewish customs and lives as a Gentile when among them, showing that he does not rely on the Law for justification. He is concerned that they are turning toward a legalistic understanding of the Christian faith.

I’ve seen this subtly played out in churches that allow for a less formalistic worship style, while holding to a formal liturgical style of worship. One (good and faithful man) once said, in effect, that people may come into the church through a contemporary worship style, but as they grow they will likely embrace a liturgical worship style. It was said without malice, but the message could be gotten that true faithfulness or worship is the liturgical style, while the less formal or more contemporary style is a poor substitute. That argument can go both ways, as those who prefer the contemporary worship style can think they are superior to those who prefer a liturgical style. They might think that the liturgy is all about going through the motions, not truly from the heart.

Our pathway to either preference is a product of many different experiences, times of pain and struggle, blessings of joy and favor, and challenges of many kinds. But we come into our own when we recognize the blessings of freedom in Christ and his calling to abandon anything that holds us back from faith active in love. So whether a more formal liturgical style of worship or a more contemporary style is not the point. The point is that we are free in Christ, and as we serve him in that freedom we do truly come into our own.