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Today's meditation
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Weight no more
Galatians 4:1-11: Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods. Now, however, that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits? How can you want to be enslaved to them again?
Next week I have to take a long trip, and I’m debating on which book to take to read on the plane. It’s more convenient to use my tablet or phone to read, but I very much prefer reading from a “real” book. It does seem foolish to add that extra weight and hassle to my trip, but it simply makes me feel better.
As physical beings ourselves, we find solace in the physical and material: things we can touch and feel and see. Even the most faithful seeker of God relies on the things of this earth for comfort and predictability, on what we perceive as "real" things.
In Galatians, though, we are cautioned about returning to reliance on the visible and physical instead of relying on the invisible and eternal. The writer asks us, “Now…that you have come to know God…how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits?” We choose to be “enslaved to them again” whenever we put our trust in human endeavors instead of on the promises of God. God knows that we easily “turn back” to things that give familiar comfort.
But why do we insist on carrying that extra weight with us on this long journey?
Psalms 56, 57; Isaiah 51:17-23; Mark 7:24-37
Copyright 2025 by Carol Mead. For noncommercial use and sharing only. For more information on this ministry, and on a free subscription to these meditations, please contact the author by email (thenewmead@yahoo.com).
Next week I have to take a long trip, and I’m debating on which book to take to read on the plane. It’s more convenient to use my tablet or phone to read, but I very much prefer reading from a “real” book. It does seem foolish to add that extra weight and hassle to my trip, but it simply makes me feel better.
As physical beings ourselves, we find solace in the physical and material: things we can touch and feel and see. Even the most faithful seeker of God relies on the things of this earth for comfort and predictability, on what we perceive as "real" things.
In Galatians, though, we are cautioned about returning to reliance on the visible and physical instead of relying on the invisible and eternal. The writer asks us, “Now…that you have come to know God…how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits?” We choose to be “enslaved to them again” whenever we put our trust in human endeavors instead of on the promises of God. God knows that we easily “turn back” to things that give familiar comfort.
But why do we insist on carrying that extra weight with us on this long journey?
Psalms 56, 57; Isaiah 51:17-23; Mark 7:24-37
Copyright 2025 by Carol Mead. For noncommercial use and sharing only. For more information on this ministry, and on a free subscription to these meditations, please contact the author by email (thenewmead@yahoo.com).