Monday, February 16, 2026
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Galatians 4-5
- Secondary Reading: Psalms 20
Key Verse
Galatians 4:29 — “But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.”
Devotional Thought
Paul’s letter to the Galatians asks a question that reaches straight into this mid-February Monday: are you living as a son or as a servant? In chapter four he reminds the Galatian believers that an heir, while still a child, “differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all.” He is under tutors and governors until the father appoints the time. Paul then presses the point home: “when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” The Galatians had known this freedom. Paul had preached to them through infirmity of the flesh, and they had received him “as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus”—so tenderly that they would have plucked out their own eyes for him. Yet false teachers had come behind him, insisting on circumcision and calendar-keeping, and the believers were sliding back “to the weak and beggarly elements.” Paul’s bewilderment is almost audible: “Where is then the blessedness ye spake of?”
That question lands in our own February. The holidays are behind us; the year has settled into routine. It is easy, in ordinary days, to quietly return to earning what Christ has already given. We keep score with God. We measure our standing by quiet times kept, verses memorized, sins avoided—good things, but terrible Saviors. Paul’s allegory of Hagar and Sarah makes the stakes plain: “Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” The law can only produce slaves; the promise produces sons. So chapter five opens with a trumpet call: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”
But liberty is not license. Paul is careful: “use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” The free son does not wander; he walks. “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” The works of the flesh—hatred, strife, envyings—are listed plainly. Against them stands the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Fruit, not wages. It grows in a son, not in a slave. Psalm 20 sings the same confidence: “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.” Today, remember the name. You are not a servant earning a wage; you are an heir, adopted, free.
Reflection
- Where in your daily routine have you quietly begun living like a servant—earning God’s favor through disciplines, moods, or scorekeeping—rather than resting as an adopted son or daughter?
- Paul asks, “Where is then the blessedness ye spake of?” What joy or gratitude have you lost since you first believed, and what would it look like to recover it this week?
Prayer
Father, we come to You as sons and daughters, not servants, because in the fulness of time You sent Your Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem us and give us adoption. Forgive us for turning back to weak and beggarly elements, trying to earn what You have freely given. Send forth the Spirit of Your Son into our hearts again, crying, Abba, Father. Help us stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and by love serve one another. Form Christ in us, and let the fruit of the Spirit grow where striving once ruled. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Psalm Verse
Psalms 20:1 — “The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;”