We were like slaves long ago
Yocajnui tu piroque bisidei nanique Ecarai
Before we knew Dupade we were slaves of a foolish master: (Galatians 1:6,7)
The apostle Paul taught about how we lived before we knew the Lord. He tells about the type of things we used to do. Before we knew the Lord, we were like slaves of a different master: foolish people serving a foolish master. But when we knew the Lord, things changed for us. We were no longer slaves of a foolish master, but suddenly we belonged to a Father that treated us like children, his own children.
When we put our faith in Jesus, God recognized us and knew us:
Therefore Paul said: “But afterwards, when you came to know Dupade, then the Lord also knew you and looked after you. So, why have you turned back to the way you were in the beginning? Don’t you remember how people are who hate Dupade? They hate Dupade, and they hate his ways. They are like ignorant people who don’t know anything.
But Paul tells us that when we put our faith in Jesus, that is when Dupade sees us and knows us, and we have fellowship with Him and with each other. That’s what Paul taught.
When we knew Dupade we began to reach out to others:
Paul knew Dupade and that’s why he reached out to others. And in the same way, we do good things for others because we know Dupade; and we teach each other about his Word. And we serve Dupade by doing good things for each other. When we teach each other about the things of the Lord, Dupade notices what we are doing. He knows that we don’t know everything about his Word and that we need to be taught, and that is why He himself is pleased to teach us through his Holy Spirit.
When Jesus became our friend, his Father became our father, too:
Therefore, I want to tell you right now that Jesus is our brother, and his Father is our Father, too, Dupade himself. Therefore, we teach each other about how Jesus is like our head, and we are joined to him as his body. And when Jesus comes to take us with him, we’ll go to be with Jesus in heaven, our whole group (the believers that constitute the church) or the body of which Jesus is the head. Therefore, Paul explained this teaching to us so that we could teach each other about the things of Jesus. And so, let’s serve Dupade today, starting right now.
Let’s not turn back to our old ways:
That is why Paul asked them this question: “Why is it that you have you gone back to how you used to live?”
Ecarai – Tobité, Bolivia – 1970.
Transcribed and translated to English by: Maxine Morarie.
