GALATIANS 4:31

“So then, brothers and sisters, we are not children of a slave woman, but of the free woman.”

How many times have you heard a speaker say, “In conclusion,” and then continue speaking for another 15-30 minutes? Preachers are notorious for that (I say that as one). Sometimes, the neatest conclusion is short and sweet. We don’t need to ramble. We just need to wrap it up!  Amen?

Paul wraps up his discussion in verses 21-31 with this last statement in today’s verse. The Greek word used for “So then” is a little conjuction, dio, which could be translated “therefore” or “wherefore.” Paul closes this discussion of the free woman (Sarah) and the slave woman (Hagar) by simply saying we are free in Christ. We belong to the promise made to Abraham and Sarah.

APPLICATION

How can you wrap it up today? We do not need to be dragging things out, do we? What do I mean by that? God had given each of us a message to deliver as believers in Christ. We need to learn to deliver that message succinctly and clearly. We do not need to preach a sermon to deliver the message. Tell what Christ has done in your life. Share your story.

Take a look at Paul’s testimony, which is told three times in the book of Acts. One of those is in Acts 26. I won’t put the whole text here. You can read that for yourself in verses 2-23. The point is – Paul wasn’t bragging on himself or what he had done for Jesus. He was bragging on Jesus. That’s our testimony. In conclusion, that’s all that matters – what He has done in our life.

We all need to have those two or three stories we can tell someone about the workings of Jesus in our life. How He answered a prayer. How He met a need. How we saw His healing power in the life of a loved one. We all have those stories, but we don’t file them away for quick access. In conclusion…keep it simple. Let the Holy Spirit speak through you. He will if you and I will submit to His leading.

Lord, I know I have the tendency to ramble. Help me keep my testimony short and sweet.