Begin with two minutes of stillness and silence before God.

The stories told in today’s devotional are that of the authors, based on horrifically true events, and may be considered crude. If the stories told today might gross you out, please skip to the part where we talk about the Bible.

Potty training. The ninth circle of hell. If you have kids, you know what I mean. If you have pets, you know what I mean. The only difference between a child and a dog is we typically put their food bowl on a table instead of the floor. Both kids and pets can be challenging when teaching them to do their “business” in their designated “workspaces”. I have four beautiful children. My oldest son, God bless him, is five and came potty trained. He learned pretty quickly where to go to the bathroom within a day or two. My sweet, sweet, little, angel, baby girls are currently potty training, seemingly at the same time. If you have seen the movie “The Princess Bride”, Billy Crystal’s character describes the concept of being “mostly dead”. What I am describing is a concept called “mostly potty trained”. So, we have Scottie who is deconstructing her potty training, and who should come along to begin her journey? That would be my two-year-old daughter, Swayze. She came out of the gate swinging and was being mostly consistent. My youngest son, Tex, is only 4 months old, so we don’t have high expectations for his potty journey yet. Every season of child raising is like herding cats. They get it for a bit and then you have to get them back on track.

In this section, Paul is addressing his herd of cats. Paul had been a proud, self-righteous Pharisee, trusting in his righteousness to save him. When he came to Christ, he abandoned all efforts to save himself and trusted wholly in God’s grace. Here he is urging the Galatians to follow his example and avoid the legalism of the Judaizers. Even though the Jews persecuted Paul while in Galatia, the Galatians welcomed him with open arms as he preached the gospel to them. Paul is wondering what changed. He goes as far as to ask in verse 16, “So have I become your enemy by telling the truth?” I ask my children the same question. Have I become your enemy that you would conduct your “business” on every square foot of our house? The Galatians had fallen away from Paul’s teaching of the Gospel and their minds had been clouded by the Judaizers with legalistic nonsense. Paul is trying to lead them back to what is true and right.

I am trying to lead my girls to the toilet. Whether it be a wayward congregation or potty training, patience, prayer, and persistence are key. The best part of this passage is the last two verses, 19 and 20. Paul says he is in “labor until Christ is formed in you”. Nothing will stop him from getting through to these people. It is important to Paul that people hear the Gospel and understand that he will “labor” until it happens. Finally, verse 20 says it all. He says, “I am perplexed about you”. I feel you on that one Paul.

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• Read Philippians 1:21.
• What is discipleship?
• Are you being discipled, discipling others, or both?
• Reflect on Paul’s determination to see the Galatians come to know, love, and follow Christ. Do we have that same drive for salvation in the lives of others?
  
• Share the Gospel with someone this weekend. Invite someone to church on Sunday. Invite someone to House Church on Wednesday.
  
• Prayer: God, help us to carry truth to the world. Surround us with community that points us to You. Help us to be that community for others. I pray we never grow weary of planting seeds of salvation in those around us. Help us to be bold this week as we carry out our day-to-day operations. We pray that the thoughts of You will be always on our minds. We love You. Amen.