Opening Story
I want to start this morning with a story about a single mom. She grew up in a small town, moved away to a big city in another country when she grew up, married a man, had a baby… then it all fell apart. Divorced, isolated, unemployed. She moved back home to be near family with almost nothing. She started on welfare, eventually found some work to keep the lights on, but inside a greater passion burned. She had what she knew was a great idea that she wanted—that she needed—to bring to bear in the world.
But she couldn’t make it happen on her own. She needed help. And so she asked. And asked. And asked. But no one wanted to help.
Your idea is bad.
It’s unnecessary.
No one would be interested.
There was no business case.
The criticism came fast and hard.
She had every reason to give up; no connections, no resources, no money, no husband, and a small baby who needed her constantly… but this woman was as stubborn as they come. She refused to give up. She refused to give in.
Who was this woman? Did her dogged determination and singular focus pay off?
It must have, or I wouldn’t be telling this story… right? Well, we know we’re not getting the conclusion of the story until the conclusion of the sermon, so let’s pop this single mom in our pocket and come back to her at the end.
Scripture Reading — Galatians 4:1–20 (NKJV)
4 Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, 2 but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. 3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. 4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
8 But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. 9 But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years. 11 I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.
12 Brethren, I urge you to become like me, for I became like you. You have not injured me at all. 13 You know that because of physical infirmity I preached the gospel to you at the first. 14 And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. 15 What then was the blessing you enjoyed? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?
17 They zealously court you, but for no good; yes, they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them. 18 But it is good to be zealous in a good thing always, and not only when I am present with you. 19 My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you, 20 I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone; for I have doubts about you.
vv. 1–2 — Heirs Under Guardians
(Galatians 4:1–2, NKJV) 4:1 Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, 2 but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father.
At first glance this probably seems like an example scenario of how an inheritance usually worked. Something Paul is using as an illustration of what’s to come. But I believe there is a better explanation of what is happening here. And the second of two big clues is that last bit, “until the time appointed by the father”. Reading this all these years later, it might be easy to think that this was the standard model of inheritance in antiquity, but the fact is that there are rare examples of ancient laws that would allow the father to “predetermine” or “set in advance” the time of the inheritance.
And the first of the two big clues? The word “stewards”, which means to manage or administer. This term is rarely, if ever, used in inheritance imagery, which suggests Paul is doing something theologically rich here, not merely recounting a social norm.
So if this is not an example Paul is offering, what DOES this mean? I think it’s pretty simple if we remember that chapters and verses are not inspired, just the words themselves.
Let’s back up and look at 3:28–29 together with 4:1–2:
(Galatians 3:28–4:2) 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. 4:1 Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, 2 but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father.
The “heir” in this case, is the heir of Abraham’s promise. And they—collectively—we, the Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free, men and women receive the promises, but Paul compares the period under the Mosaic Covenant with being a slave, in bondage. But all things belong to us, as the apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3!
(1 Corinthians 3:21–23, NKJV) 21 Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours. 23 And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
But! These things were kept under guardians and stewards. The guardian (paidagōgos) was the one who kept us in check—the Law itself, acting as our moral and ceremonial restraint. The steward (epitropos), however, managed the household—the prophets, priests, kings, and judges who administered the Law to God’s people.
And when did the need for laws and law-keepers come to an end for the people of God?
At the cross. The cross changed everything. The cross changed the world. Forever.
v. 3 — Bondage to the Elements
3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.
Now Paul narrows the scope down from us as the sort-of monolithic mass of humanity that embodies the heirs of Abraham’s promise to each individual member of that group. You and you and you and me and Paul. And then Paul says that we were in bondage under the “elements of the world”.
What does this mean? What are the “elements of this world”? Typically these are thought to be spiritual elements or demonic powers, and while we can indeed make a case for that view, I don’t believe it makes the best case. I actually think these elements are the sun, moon, and stars.
This might sound unusual at first, but it’s rooted in both Scripture and history. Stick with me for a minute as I lay this out.
It might seem unlikely, but there is actually a LOT of scholarly debate around Galatians. And that comes from one main thing: Paul seems to be unusually vague and non-distinct in this book. And this has led to a wide array of opinions on what Paul is talking about and even who he is talking TO! The Jews? The Judaizers? The Gentiles? Is he going back and forth between the two groups. A lot of people will say, “oh these two verses are for the Jews, but the next couple are directed to the Gentiles, and then he switches back to the Jews again.”
Could this be the case? Yeah, it could. But there is no textual evidence for it. It seems unlikely to me that Paul would be rapid-fire switching audiences without letting anyone know who he was addressing and just hoping they would figure it out.
I think the answer is as simple as it is obvious. Paul’s speaking here is generic and broad terms so that his message will hit everyone.
Think about the lyrics to your favourite break-up song. Here’s one from my angsty teen years; the Boyz II Men classic, “End of the Road”:
When I can’t sleep at night without holding you tight
Girl, each time I try I just break down and cry
Pain in my head, oh, I’d rather be dead
Spinning around and around
Although we’ve come
To the end of the road
Still I can’t let go
It’s unnatural
You belong to me
I belong to you
What do you notice? The lyrics are vague, they allow anyone to see themselves in the situation. “Oh my goodness! I want to cry! I have a pain in my head! I can’t let go! Boyz II Men really get me!” Not sure we would have the same reaction if the lyrics were:
You called me a manchild
I called you a fat cow
You left for your sister’s place
I wept into a bucket of fried chicken
So since Paul is trying to speak to a room full of people from different backgrounds, he needs to adopt the Break-up Song Method! And we’ll see that as we go through and look at how his carefully, intentionally vague wording allows the same rebuke to land just as hard for Jews pushing Judaism as it does for Gentiles being pushed into Judaistic rites and Gentiles being pushed away from a dividing church. So watch as this comes up again and again throughout the coming verses!
Which brings us back to my assertion that the “elements of this world” are the sun, moon, and stars. The word Paul uses for “elements” here—stoicheia—was often used to describe the basic components of the cosmos.
Like? The sun, moon, stars!
See, in both Greco-Roman and Jewish thought, these weren’t just physical objects. They ruled time. They governed the calendar. And the calendar governed everything: feasts, Sabbaths, rituals, sacrifices… your whole life. You might say they were enslaved to the calendar—living under its demands, its deadlines, its rituals. Sound familiar? I bet someone in here knows what it’s like to feel ruled by the calendar. Amen?
vv. 4–7 — The Fullness of Time and Adoption
4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
I love this phrase, “the fullness of time”. The word “fullness” actually means “complete” or “correct”. This—at least for me—is the most comforting phrase in all of Scripture. God’s timing is perfect.
World-renowned philosopher DMX once wrote a song about a man having a conversation with God. I first heard it back in the late 90s and this exchange has always stuck with me.
So now here I am, confused and full of questions
Am I born to lose or is this just a lesson?
And who is gon’ choose when it gets turned around?
And will it be laying in my own blood and on the ground?My child, I’ve watched you grow up and I’ve been there
Even at those times you least suspected it, I was there
And look at what I’ve given you, a talent to rhyme
I may not come when you call, but I’m always on time
God knew what he was doing when he sent Jesus. It was a time of global unity. The Roman Empire ensured laws and language that would allow travel and the spread of the Gospel in a way never possible before. And in my own life—I suspect in yours as well—I have seen God come through, most often in the 11th hour, when there was no way anyone else could possibly get the credit.
But the most important part of this verse is what HAPPENS in the fullness of time.
God sent His son—Jesus. Born of a woman—truly human. Born under the law—a Jew. To redeem the Jews—out from under the rule of Laws and rites and rituals and work. So that we might all receive adoption and daughters and sons of the King. So that we could become heirs to the promise of Abraham. Because before Jesus made a way, we were neither children NOR heirs, but His work on the cross made a way for us to become both.
Then see how Paul shifts from “we” language to “you” language as He reminds the church in Galatia that the Holy Spirit is living in them and testifying to their adoption as daughters and sons. Testifying to their inheritance. Testifying to the saving, cleansing, life-changing work happening in their heart. In OUR hearts.
And this language of the Spirit “crying out”—which means “shouting” or “exclaiming”—reminds us of the words of Paul in Romans 8:
(Romans 8:26–27, NKJV) 26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
So let me ask you: Are you listening to the Spirit’s voice? Or are you letting critics, expectations, or your own inner doubts drown it out?
Because when you forget the Spirit’s witness, you forget your inheritance. You forget who you are. You are not a slave—not to sin, not to law, not to religion, not to time. You are a child of God, and if a child, then an heir.
Not through law. Not through works. Not through ritual or calendar. But through Christ alone. Without rival. Without equal.
v. 8 — Before You Knew God
8 But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods.
Here is another one of those vague verses I was talking about before. And the language has led many to speculate that Paul speaks only to the Gentile believers here. They read “did not know God” and they go, well, the Jews knew God. They didn’t serve false gods. True, but I think it misses Paul’s larger point.
I humbly propose that we are over-thinking this. The Jews knew God, just not directly. They knew him through law, prophets, priests, and intermediaries. And the Gentiles knew Him not at all.
The natural next question is: what about “those which by nature are not gods”? Doesn’t this imply false gods, like those of the pagan religions of the Ancient Near East? Again, I submit that we are over-thinking this. There is no claim either by Paul or by the things themselves to be gods. In fact, there is no mention that even the people serving them thought of them as gods! They might have, as in the case of the Gentiles, but in the case of the Jews they almost certainly did not.
So while the Gentiles served idols directly, and the Jews served God under the weight of rituals tied to the calendar, both were functionally enslaved to the same thing: created elements. They were living under the tyranny of the clock and the cosmos, not in the freedom of knowing God as Father.
This is another example of Paul using the Break-up Song Method to communicate to a diverse audience.
vv. 9–11 — Returning to Weak and Beggarly Elements
9 But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years. 11 I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.
Okay, so Paul has talked about the inheritance, the adoption, and the pre-Jesus state of the people. Now he’s going to tease out the logical implications of their choices. He is going to spell out what their decision will lead to in an attempt to show them how wrong-headed it is!
He starts off “now after you have known God” and this is a different “know” than the first one. This one means “come to know”; it shows a process or a growth or a transition. They have come to know God. And, more importantly, have come to be known by God. Remember, the Spirit is now living inside them. They have a union and communion with God that was never before possible, neither for the Gentile OR the Jew!
And church, that’s the same for us today! We have access to God in a way that people for most of the earth’s history did not! It’s easy to take it for granted because it’s all we have ever known, but church! We have the Spirit of God living in us and giving us life. This is an incredible gift!
And in light of this incredible gift, it is totally fair for Paul to ask, “how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?”
This verse deserves a second look—it’s loaded with implications that are easy to miss. The vast majority of scholars believe that this passage—specifically verses 8–11—is squarely directed at the Gentiles because of these “weak and beggarly elements”. Again, while this is possible, I think the text supports a better interpretation. Paul hasn’t hesitated to confront the Jewish leaders when necessary. So why would he suddenly shift blame to the Gentiles alone?
In the words of Kevin McCallister, “I don’t think so”. Here again we see Paul masterfully employing the Break-up Song Method to target everyone in the church.
Let’s look at the phrase “weak and beggarly elements”. Weak means “powerless”, “ineffective”, and “feeble”. And “beggarly” means “inadequate”, “insufficient”, and “useless” and “elements” is the same word from before that means “simple”, “elementary”, and “basic”. So the target audience is returning to powerless, insufficient, and basic things… so why do I think these things are the sun, moon, and stars?
Because of verse 10. You observe days and months and seasons and years. Is Paul upset that they are noticing the day and night cycle? The seasons for planting and harvesting? The new year? These things would be impossible to not notice!
Paul is talking to both the Jews and Gentiles and the way he does it is absolute genius! To the Jews he points out that they are returning to the old sacrificial system under the guardianship of the Law, specifically highlighting the stewardship of the sun, moon, and stars as they indicate the new days, months, seasons, and years. They will immediately get that Paul is showing them the new freedom they have in Christ, yet somehow, they want to go back to Ms. Mercer’s Kindergarten class to ask if it is time to have lunch, or how to tie their shoes!
They have William Wallace standing before them shouting “They may take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom!” and you’ve got this group standing in the corner replying, “I don’t want my freedom!”
But here’s the real genius of this approach by Paul. For as much as the Jews will immediately get what he’s talking about, the Gentiles—who also built their system of false-god-worship around days and months and seasons and years—will hear that returning to the Law at this point is no better than where they came from before Jesus. The Law is complete, it is fulfilled in Jesus, and is now ineffective and insufficient, as the author of Hebrews 8:13 says, the new covenant has made the old one obsolete!
And church, I know I have talked about how my Break-up Song Theory—that Paul is using vague language to allow everyone to see their own story in his words—is not the most popular view, that a majority of scholars think that the days and months and seasons and basic elements point to something other than the Jewish law. But this isn’t just my theory—Paul makes a similar argument in Colossians. He writes to another group being wooed by the Judaizers:
(Colossians 2:16–17, 20, NKJV) 16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. … 20 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations
Church, do we allow this to happen to us today?
It’s 40 degrees outside and we need to get to the top of a hill and all we got is a bicycle. If Jesus shows up and offers us a ride in his air-conditioned Escalade are we really going to jump back out and hop on the bike!? Are we wrestling control over our career, budget, family, and more away from Jesus so that we can have a worse experience, more stress, and a zero-percent chance of ultimate success just so that we have “control over our destiny”?
This is why Paul is worried about these people! Have I labored for you in vain? Are you really going to throw it all away to get on the bike? To go back to Kindergarten? To willingly step into slavery?
v. 12 — A Plea for Unity
12 Brethren, I urge you to become like me, for I became like you. You have not injured me at all.
This is phrased in a way that can be difficult to understand at first blush, but it’s surprisingly simple. Paul just wants to show them what is at stake here. The phrase in the original Greek basically says, “I am pleading with you, brothers and sisters: Become as I, because I also as you”. Paul is reminding them that they used to be as one, in unity, undivided. They were sisters and brothers, rowing in unity, in the same direction. And now they have splintered off.
And Paul drives the point home with the phrase “You have not injured me at all”. The word “injured” means “acted unjustly” or “done wrong to”. Their actions aren’t doing wrong to Paul, they are only hurting themselves! Damaging their relationship with Jesus, and affecting the cause of the Gospel.
Imagine you decide to get in shape, so you get a personal trainer who put you on a diet. But you really love Hostess Twinkies. Something about pre-packaged pastries makes your heart beat faster—probably the refined sugar. So you have 1, or 2, or 12! You think you’re getting something good, something you want, something that will make you happy. But in the end all you get is fatter. And you didn’t hurt the Trainer who put you on that diet, you only hurt you.
Are you cheating on Jesus, church? Are you looking elsewhere for fulfillment, for joy, for direction? If so, how long are you willing to keep hurting yourself chasing it?
Paul continues on the theme of unity in verses 13–16:
vv. 13–16 — Don’t Abandon the Blessing
13 You know that because of physical infirmity I preached the gospel to you at the first. 14 And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. 15 What then was the blessing you enjoyed? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?
We don’t know what physical infirmity led Paul to Galatia to preach the Gospel. There is some speculation that it had to do with his eyes, and so the theory has been put forward that it was some type of malaria which led to an eye problem. Some also speculate that this might be the same as the “thorn in the flesh” from 2 Corinthians 12:7. I don’t know and it doesn’t really matter. But none of this changes what Paul is saying in any substantial way.
What we see is that illness, rather than Paul’s personal will, led him to Galatia to preach. This shows how God is working in every circumstance. We may not see it. We may not feel it. But God is working—even through weakness. Paul didn’t plan to be in Galatia, but God planned to reach Galatia through Paul’s pain.
But despite Paul’s infirmity, the Galatians did not reject him, they did not hate him, but instead they accepted Him as an angel—a messenger—of God. They accepted him as one in unity with, and as an ambassador for, Christ.
Then he asks, “What then was the blessing you enjoyed?” Basically, what happened?? Why have you forsaken the blessing of the Good News I brought to you! Why have you broken unity with me and with the Gospel truth?
The next phrase—”if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me”—is a weird one, but if we know that in that day the eyes were considered to be the most valuable organ to a human, it helps bring clarity. I don’t think Paul literally had an eye problem—he might have—but instead I believe he is saying that when he came they were so close, in such unity, that they would have given him even that which they believed to be the most precious thing they had. Likely because they knew what Paul had given them in the Gospel was even MORE valuable.
Yet now, they stand apart, at odds with Paul and pursuing another gospel. Do they realize that they are now putting themselves in opposition to Paul? This is why Paul asks the question, “Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?”
This is why you don’t eat the Twinkie! What’s the Twinkie in your life that is trying to get you to cheat on God and drive a wedge between you and He that in the end only costs you?
Maybe you’ve convinced yourself that compromising your integrity “just this once” will get your foot in the door. Or you’re so desperate for a promotion that you’ve stopped resting, stopped praying, stopped seeing your kids—because success is your Twinkie. It promises sweetness, but it’s empty. You’re not helping your boss, and you’re not proving your value—you’re starving your soul. Or maybe you’ve taken on work God never asked you to do, because you’re addicted to the feeling of being important. You’re building a name for yourself, but it’s a tower of Babel. It doesn’t get you closer to God—it distances you from Him.
vv. 17–18 — Beware Spiritual Isolation
17 They zealously court you, but for no good; yes, they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them. 18 But it is good to be zealous in a good thing always, and not only when I am present with you.
Who are “they”? Way back in chapter 3 verse 1 Paul asks the question, “Who has bewitched you?” That is who “they” are. The bewitchers. Listen to the insidiousness of this plan. Once Paul lays it out bluntly, it’s tough to see how anything good could come from it at all.
The Judaizers are eager to court you, to win you, but there is nothing good to come from what they propose. Paul says they want to exclude you. This word is ominous in its meaning. It means “to remove”, “to separate”, “to isolate”. When are we the most vulnerable, church? When we are isolated.
You want to know if someone is in an abusive relationship? The single largest red flag is whether they have been isolated away from their family and friends and the people who care about them. The Judaizers are spiritual abusers. They flatter you, isolate you, and demand loyalty—not to Christ, but to their system.
And there are “Judaizers” in this world; things trying to get your attention, which want to isolate you and make you care about only them—to be zealous for them—so that you can be isolated, separated, removed, alone.
What are those things that isolate you in shame? Pornography? Gambling? Alcohol?
What are those things that isolate you in distraction? Work? Sports? Travel?
Paul tells us in verse 18 that it is good to be zealous for a good thing. There is no room in the Christian life for secret addictions like porn, gambling, or alcohol. But there is room for work, sports, and travel so long as it doesn’t isolate you and keep you away from your Christian family. So be zealous for what is good. But don’t let your zeal flicker only when you’re in church or when someone’s watching. Let it burn for Christ always—because isolation kills, but gospel zeal gives life.
vv. 19–20 — A Pastor’s Heart in Pain
19 My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you, 20 I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone; for I have doubts about you.
Paul positions himself as a spiritual mother to this church, agonizing over his spiritual children using the imagery of the most intense pain any parent can endure in service of their children. He is watching them make bad choices, but aside from pleading with them to remember the freedom they have in Christ there is little he can do. This is not theological frustration—this is parental heartbreak. Paul isn’t scolding them like a professor with disappointed students; he’s pleading like a mother in labor again, knowing full well the cost.
I remember watching students who used to be in my youth ministry—many of whom are now in their 30s—grow up to make terrible choices and being grieved in my soul. I poured so much of my heart and soul into them, to watch them stray from the faith is heart breaking. So I pray—like Paul—that the gospel seed won’t rot in shallow soil. That Christ would again take shape in them. That the Spirit’s cry of ‘Abba, Father’ wouldn’t be smothered but stirred to life, until it breaks through in full transformation.
Paul’s final desperate words in this passage show his pastoral heart for these sisters and brothers in Galatia, “I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone; for I have doubts about you.” I actually think the New Living Translation renders this exceptionally well, “I wish I were with you right now so I could change my tone. But at this distance I don’t know how else to help you.”
Paul’s plea to the church in Galatia is simple: don’t give up on the real thing. Don’t quit fighting the good fight. Never stop never stopping.
Who was the single mom?
And this idea of ‘never stop never stopping’ brings us back to the single mom we put in our pocket at the beginning. The one with an unsatisfying job, a baby, and an idea that no one wanted, despite her best efforts to pitch it to anyone who would—or wouldn’t—listen.
That woman was Joanne Rowling. The idea was Harry Potter. And when she finally found someone—Bloomsbury—who agreed to take a chance on her story… well… the rest is history.
Now, I am not trying to endorse J.K. Rowling or Harry Potter, just make the point that there will be hard times. There will be rejection. There will be people who tell us to give up. There will be easier paths presented. But they will not be as rich and fulfilling as what Jesus promises, what Jesus will deliver.
Church, we have a promise living inside us in the person of the Holy Spirit. We have an inheritance waiting for us, purchased with the blood of Jesus. And we have been adopted as sons and daughters of the creator of the universe: God the Father.
We need to grow and nurture that thing within us. It needs to become our all, our everything, an all-consuming fire that drives each decision and every step. The Gospel needs to become the air we breathe because, church this is the big, tough question:
If Christ isn’t being formed in us… what is?
Let’s pray.
Father,
Thank You that we are no longer slaves, but sons and daughters—heirs through Christ. Forgive us for the times we’ve turned back to what You already freed us from. Forgive us for choosing law over love, ritual over relationship, control over calling.Holy Spirit, stir up Your cry within us again—remind us who we are and whose we are. Form Christ in us. Shape our hearts, renew our minds, and set our affections on what is eternal. Break every chain we’ve gone back to, every false god we’ve bowed to, every distraction that’s pulled us away.
Make us zealous for what is good—not just when people are watching, but always. Help us live like heirs, walk like children of the promise, and love like Jesus.
We ask this not by our strength, but by the power of the One who came in the fullness of time—Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.