Galatians 4:19-20 :
My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ is formed in you— but I could wish to be present with you now, and to change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.
It is obvious that Paul deeply loved the Galatians. This is an interesting place where Paul takes a motherly tone and compares himself to a woman who is giving birth to a child. It is very important to remember that both man and woman were made in the image of God according to Genesis. God is represented by both men and women and Paul was showing God’s love to the Galatians by way of an illustration using a mother’s love through the pain of childbirth.
True leadership really cares. It isn’t just about about being wise or knowing more than others. It’s about having a genuine love for those those that you are guiding. Paul cares so much and is so distressed by their behavior, that he was torn between calling them his children and wanting to give them a spanking for being bad.
Notice that caring leadership doesn’t run from the problem. The Galatian church had made Paul their enemy and all Paul could think of was to go right strait to them. I am sure that Paul was not afraid to address the issue head on. It would have been pretty easy to just say that they have made their choice and leave them alone to suffer in it. Paul treated them like his own children and simply wouldn’t let them go the wrong way if there was anything he could do about it.
Lastly, we see here that perplexity isn’t a sin. It is easy to think that you “need to have it all figured out.” Evidently, even Paul didn’t have it all figured out and would get perplexed from time to time. We know now, looking back, that Paul was addressing one of the biggest problems the church as a whole would face going into the future. Many would need to hear Paul’s instructions about this very issue as we need it right now. This problem was a big blow from Satan and Paul was perplexed. I would say that he was also hurt by rejection.
God knows when we are confused and hurt and He is always there to guide us through and bring us to a major victory. I think Paul, although he was thinking about whether or not his effort was wasted, knew in his heart that God was going to bring a victory in this situation. God did bring victory to me through these words. I am very thankful that he cared enough to write them down and attempt to do something about the problem.