Labor Pains and Grave Cloths

Good Monday morning! Have you ever thought that you are bearing a child? Some of you will have more direct experience with this than others. However, Paul compared his yearning for the sanctification of the Galatians to laboring in birth again. Since we can safely assume that Paul wasn't comparing this to his experience of bearing children, he must have made the comparison to his own birth pains in becoming a Christ follower. "My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you." (Gal 4:19) Now, Paul wasn't pretending to be Mary, and he wasn't saying that the Galatian Christians would be like Mary in the physical sense, so what are these labor pains about? How many Christians have you known who got saved and never sinned again? Right, not one. We can't even be sure about that one who died right after his confession in faith.

Our salvation is accomplished by Jesus right on the spot, but sanctification takes a bit longer. We have compared this to the grave clothes that bound Lazarus, and now Paul also compares our Christian growth to the pains a woman experiences in giving birth. Not only this, but Paul also felt those pains again as the Galatians worked out their faith in Christ. Those who watch each of us learn and grow in Christ will be reminded of their own pains in treading the path of sanctification. As we grow and mentor others who come to believe in Jesus, we too will take our turn in feeling the labor pains of sanctification even as our own growth continues. Why the metaphors of grave cloths and labor pains? Sin hurts.

We often don't think of those private sins as hurting others, especially not our Christian brothers and sisters. Some might not even think that a public sin of a Christian leader wouldn't affect all of the body of Christ. However, I think that each of us could point out a time when we felt a great disappointment and even a mourning when a news report of some sin in the church reached our ears. When an evangelical Christian pastor sins in Colorado Springs, the body of Christ is affected. When a priest in New York sins, the body of Christ is affected. Why? Christ is affected and we are all connected in the body to our head who is Christ Jesus. Even those private little sins that we think no one else knows about can affect the body because our Lord knows about them. Sounds like a dark day for the body of Christ, eh?

Praise God that like the human body heals from pain, so does Jesus heal the body of Christ constantly. We sin, but we seek forgiveness as we repent of even the smallest mean thought. We heal each other as the sweet savor of our prayers rise before the Almighty One. Christ takes responsibility for His bride and His body by healing and empowering us to obey, trust, and believe in Him. The Savior is not done sanctifying us!

Have a great new week in Christ Jesus! Bucky