Invest In Your Oikos

Leif Holmes

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

Galatians 4:19

This verse came to my mind the other day during a discussion I was involved in. In context, Paul wrote the book of Galatians in response to a false teaching that was infiltrating the churches. It taught that Christian converts were obligated to observe circumcision and other elements of the Mosaic Law.  Paul is beside himself with angst and anxiety because he does not want the Galatians to go back to their old way of life. It is in this context that he writes, “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.”

I am struck by several thoughts about that verse. First, what depth of care and concern he must have felt for these people! He refers to them as his dear children, which I assume means that he had played a significant role in their spiritual birth and formation. Second, he compares the feeling and emotions he is having about their spiritual state to the pains of childbirth! And third, his one and only priority is the formation of Christ in them.

As I contemplate that, it reminds me of my own Oikos. Remember our Oikos are those 8-15 people God has supernaturally and strategically placed on the front row seat of our lives. They are the people that we naturally cross paths with in our everyday traffic pattern – at home, at work, in our neighborhood, etc. What a powerful example Paul gives of his investment in some of the people that were part of his Oikos! His love for them was so genuine and so deep that he compares it to childbirth.

For me, that begs questions for those in my Oikos. Do I have that same depth of care and concern for them? Is my main priority to see Christ formed in them? These are good questions to ask, and through His mercy and grace, Jesus is helping me with the answers. Thank you Lord.