Spiritual Anguish – Galatians 4:18-20

“It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!” (Galatians 4:18–19, ESV)

Oh, the pain of child rearing. When I was young, I did not truly understand the difficulty of raising children. It is truly a noble burden. God has made us as parents stewards of our young ones. It is with much pain that a mother brings them into this world, and it is with much pain that we raise them up.

I remember my dad trying to teach me simple algebra. He was the chief of design for a company that built steam turbines and other power components. He was a man that knew complex mathematics. My mother and father put a small child’s desk for me near the grate of our coal-burning central heater. It was there that my dad struggled to get me to understand simple algebra. You know, the A + B = C stuff. Yet I struggled. I remember being in tears, not understanding, but trying very hard. I sensed my dad’s frustration.

Years later, after having our own children, I came to understand the anguish of parenthood. I had missed the birth of my daughter, being on deployment in the Army, but I was there with my wife for my son’s birth. Then I better understood the pains of childbirth. Like I say better but not fully. However, I do understand the pains of trying to raise them up to be mature adults who are ready to take on the responsibilities of adults in the world. It was not just in early training, but in training them throughout their lives.

Paul looked at those to whom he brought the message of salvation as his children in the faith. When he first presented this message to the Galatians and saw them respond to it with favor, he likened the experience of his anguish for them as a woman transitioning from the pains of childbirth to the joy of embracing the newborn. Yet now Paul was in anguish again.

What was the reason for this renewed anguish? It was that their spiritual growth seemed to have been stunted. He stated that he was “again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ” was “formed in” them! His desire was to see them mature into Christ likeness. The problem was that they had allowed the influence of the Judaizers to take them on a detour, which was stunting their growth.

Paul wrote this letter with a strong tone because they were following this spiritual detour that would lead them nowhere. For this reason, Paul indicated the following.

“I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.” (Galatians 4:20, ESV)

Paul wrote with a severe tone to them because he was perplexed over their situation. This was much like parents would speak to a child for whom they had much hope and then saw them making decisions that would sway them from the correct path to adulthood.

When I served in the pastorate, someone asked me what charged my ministerial battery? I answered like this. “The thing that excites me the most is to see believer grow in Christ likeness.” I did not say it, but conversely the greatest anguish was to see believers who were stagnant in their faith and to see some departing for false teaching.

Understand the heart of the pastor. He will see every regular parishioner as family, as spiritual children, so to speak, under his care. Realize that his desire, is to see his children grow to maturity. Sometimes this means that the words preached will have a strong tone. Sometimes he will be perplexed. Yet his desire is for every believer to grow spiritually, knowing that with that growth the believers will experience great joy.