"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?
...I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain." ~Galatians 4:9 & 11That last part has never really hit me; until I reflected on my former attitude/relationship (or lack thereof) towards my earthly parents.
I took their vigilant care and investment of me for granted, until the age of 14, when God mightily crushed my former heart of stone and mercifully gave me a heart of flesh.And now, in this present day, when I reflect on my spiritual parents, siblings, and family who have invested so much in me these last four years, I am being made aware, by this Scripture, of the danger of my taking it all for granted—AGAIN.
"I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain."
Would it be loving to purposefully waste someone's time of spiritual nurturing, sowing, and investment; knowing that they could have spent it on someone else who equally needed it? Would my earthly parents have ever been satisfied, contented, and fulfilled, if they saw me persist in taking their love for me, for granted?
On the day of Judgment, do I want the outcome and the revelation of my true life (that God completely and thoroughly sees) to shock my loved ones to disappointment and even tears [Philippians 3:18-19] or to rejoice that their labor of love for me was not in vain?
"WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING
(for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.)
DO ALL THINGS WITHOUT COMPLAINING AND DISPUTING
(that you may become blameless and harmless; become children of God, without fault, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world)
HOLD FAST THE WORD OF LIFEso that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain or labored in vain." ~Philippians 2:12-16

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Different Things God is teaching Me
SpiritualWhen God shows His love, mercy, forgiveness, longsuffering, and grace towards you...it shouldn't stop with you. You are destined to pass it on to others and reflect faithfulness and devotion back to Him as the Divine Spouse. Cover Art by Maria Oosth...