My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.

Galatians 4:19 (ESV)

Too many people struggle with the dilemma of determining God's will for their lives. Instead of accepting God's will as an invitation to know and love Him, we have somehow reduced it to something we must do for God. God's will is centred on relationships rather than a predetermined destination or vocation. In fact, if you study the Scriptures, you'll see that God focused more on defining who we are than on advising us on our course of action.

The focus of God's will, according to the Apostle Paul, is to make Christ known to you so that Christ may be formed within you (see Colossians 1:27). You will reflect Christ in your words, deeds, and attitude as your heart and purpose are moulded and transformed by the truth of Christ's presence and power inside you.

Imagine for a moment that we are like a cup of hot water and Christ is like a tea bag infused inside of us. The longer the tea steeps in the cup, the stronger it becomes. It is the same with us. The more we let Christ transform us, the more we experience His grace and ability to transform the lives of those around us.

Paul sees himself as a birthing mother and midwife. He agonises over the Galatians because they adopted a legalistic lifestyle and ceased valuing the new life of Christ in them. They were impeding their own spiritual growth and maturity by having a stillborn faith. This is due to the fact that they were relying solely on their own spiritual achievements and not on Christ's atoning work for their salvation.

The actions of the Galatians stem from an unresolved insecurity in the gospel. In its own way, insecurity is a form of pride. This is because it expresses a belief in one's own self-righteousness and a rejection of God's righteousness as revealed in Christ.

Let us, therefore, hold to the truth of the gospel and respond to God’s grace with love, trust, and obedience.