Contemplative Bible Reading

Galatians 4:12-14 12 I plead with you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you. You have done me no wrong. 13 As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. 14 Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself.

It sounds to me in these verses that Paul arrived in Galatia in a state of physical ailment. He sounds like a cripple. Ooh, that word doesn’t bring any good feelings to me. “Cripple.” Even the way the consonants clash against one another sounds bad.

Regardless, the Galatians accepted Paul. They listened to what he had to say.

Could I do that? Could I accept a cripple into to my life as a teacher? I considered this question after reading this verse. I don’t have much confidence in myself in this area. Physical skills – the ability to walk and chew gum at the same time – seem to carry with them mental skills. At least they seem to go together with me.

That doesn’t sound too good now that I have written it and read it a few times. What am I doing? I recall how Israel’s first king was Saul. He was big and strong and all that good stuff.

A few years later, the prophet Samuel went to find the next king. He passed through all the tall and handsome sons of Jesse and kept looking. Samuel settled on the little, scrawny runt named David. He was the one God chose.

I guess we haven’t grown much in maturity when it comes to physical appeal. Several thousand years later I still look for someone to have some physical ability before I accept them as a teacher.

I am glad that I found this example of the Galatians and how they accepted an ailing Paul as their teacher. I will try to see less-able people differently.