We often use “family” language in church, but family language can be misused. Some families – whether biological families or church families – project a sense that joining the family means becoming “just like us.” The reality is that when a new member comes into the family, whether through birth, adoption, marriage, or church membership classes, the family itself changes. Just as a happy marriage requires incorporating the gifts and experiences of two different families of origin to form a new family, so a healthy congregation is able to incorporate the gifts and experiences of new members, including those who come from very different cultural contexts.
In contrast to a sense of exclusion the Galatians were feeling (Galatians 4:12-18), Paul emphasizes the positive nature of the relationship he has with the Galatians. He brought the Gospel to them where they were (“I have become as you are,” 4:12), and they welcomed him with open arms.
This message is excerpted from the Bible study “Galatians, Christian faith and freedom” by Kathryn A. Kleinhans in the March 2017 Gather magazine. Today we commemorate John of the Cross, renewer of the church, 1591.
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