As a father of teenagers, I have so many emotions as I watch my kids grow up. Sometimes I feel nostalgic when I see pictures of our family ten years ago, when the kids were cuddly and every day was full of wonder. In those days, Tonya and I made most of their decisions for them. We told them when to go to bed, and we woke them up at the proper time. We arranged their activities, and we figured out transportation. We laid out their clothes in the mornings and prepared their meals in the evening. Come to think of it, those were really, really hard days. Those kids wore us out!

Now that the kids are older, a part of me misses those old days. My son is 19 this year. 20 is on the horizon. All of those decisions we once made for him – what he will eat and what he will wear and what time he will get up in the morning – we no longer do those things for him. He is a man now. Likewise, my daughters both drive themselves to their own activities, and they spend hours deciding for themselves what to wear. They are maturing, and with maturity comes freedom and responsibility.

The Christians in Galatia were growing, too. They had been adopted as children of Jesus Christ, through faith, and that was a privileged position. They had freedom to make choices and live this new life for God’s glory, but that freedom scared them. They wanted to run back to the days when they had rules for everything. That seemed safer and less threatening. They wanted to run to the Law.

Do you see why Paul is so concerned about the Galatians? Even though I feel nostalgic for the “good old days,” I don’t want my children to revert back to them. It would be a real step backwards! I want them to continue to grow and become stronger and live the faith they have learned, and who knows? Maybe one day they will bring me grandchildren and we can start the whole thing over!