You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?”

(Galatians 3:1)

Don’t you love how kind and gentle Paul’s letters are?

What was it that got the apostle so worked up? It was because the Galatians had the wrong idea about the importance of the Holy Spirit. They understood the role that the Spirit played in their conversion, but they were missing out on His role as Helper in the ongoing life of a believer. Their new life in Christ had begun by responding to the Holy Spirit through faith, but they were now trying to maintain it by human effort, rather than relying on Him.

Many Christians today get caught in the same trap as the Galatians: we forget why the Holy Spirit is so important. If we want to avoid being “foolish Galatians,” we need to respond to the Holy Spirit and the way He moves in our lives.