Guardianship 101: When Rules Raise You
In Galatians 3:24 (NLT), Paul writes, “Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.” The word “guardian” invites an image of a caretaker or tutor, someone responsible for guiding and watching over a child until they are mature enough to act on their own. In Paul’s world, this might have been a household servant who escorted children, kept them safe, and ensured they learned discipline. It’s an image of guidance, but also of boundaries and control.
Rules, Rules, Rules: Blessing or Buzzkill?
Reading this from a secular perspective, it’s easy to see parallels between this metaphor and the way societies use laws and systems of rules today. Laws set guardrails, shape behavior, and create order. They’re often put in place with good intentions—to protect people or maintain stability. But they can also feel restrictive or limiting, especially when someone is ready to take on more responsibility or explore freedom in a deeper way.
Paul’s argument seems to be that the law served a temporary role for the early followers of Jesus. Once faith became central, the law’s purpose shifted. This idea raises questions about how people and communities decide when a rule or system has served its purpose. When do laws stop guiding and start constraining? How do we know when it’s time to outgrow them, or reinterpret them for a new context?
Boundaries: Friend, Not Foe
The image of a guardian suggests that boundaries are not inherently bad. They can be formative, even necessary. A guardian doesn’t exist to harm but to prepare for growth. This framing challenges us to look at the rules in our own lives—whether cultural, religious, or personal—and ask what role they play. Are they helping us grow, or holding us back? And how do we know when it’s time to transition from being under guardianship to making independent choices?
Paul’s metaphor also offers a glimpse into how he viewed spiritual history. For him, the law wasn’t irrelevant or wrong; it was a stage in a process. From a historical lens, this reflects the tension early Christians felt between their Jewish heritage and their new beliefs. For those communities, it wasn’t simply about breaking from tradition but about redefining their relationship with it. They were navigating how to honor the old while stepping into something new.
Growing Beyond the Guardian
Thinking about this today, it’s not hard to see similar dynamics outside of religion. Societies, organizations, and even individuals often rely on rules and structures to guide development. Over time, those structures might need to be questioned, adapted, or even left behind. Paul’s framing of the law as a guardian can be read as an invitation to think critically about the systems that shape us, and how those systems might evolve as we grow.
This passage seems to highlight a process: learning from the boundaries that once guided us and deciding what freedom looks like when we’re ready for it.