In beseeching the Galatians to be as he is, Paul expresses the hope that they might hold the same affection for him that he holds for them. “Perhaps I have been a little hard with you. Forgive it. Do not judge my heart according to my words.” We request the same consideration for ourselves. Our way of writing is incisive and straightforward. But there is no bitterness in our heart. We seek the honor of Christ and the welfare of men. We do not hate the Pope as to wish him ill. We do not desire the death of our false brethren. We desire that they may turn from their evil ways to Christ and be saved with us. A teacher chastises the pupil to reform him. The rod hurts, but correction is necessary. A father punishes his son because he loves his son. If he did not love the lad he would not punish him but let him have his own way in everything until he comes to harm. Paul beseeches the Galatians to look upon his correction as a sign that he really cared for them. “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” (Heb. 12:11.) Although Paul seeks to soften the effect of his reproachful words, he does not take them back. When a physician administers a bitter potion to a patient, he does it to cure the patient. The fact that the medicine is bitter is no fault of the physician. The malady calls for a bitter medicine. Paul wants the Galatians to judge his words according to the situation that made them necessary. VERSE 12. Brethren, I beseech you...Ye have not injured me at all. Would you call it beseeching the Galatians to call them “bewitched,” “disobedient,” “crucifiers of Christ”? The Apostle calls it an earnest beseeching. And so it is. When a father corrects his son it means as if he were saying, “My son, I beseech you, be a good boy.” VERSE 12. Ye have not injured me at all. “I am not angry with you,” says Paul. “Why should I be angry with you, since you have done me no injury at all?” To this the Galatians reply: “Why, then, do you say that we are perverted, that we have forsaken the true doctrine, that we are foolish, bewitched, etc., if you are not angry? We must have offended you somehow.” Paul answers: “You Galatians have not injured me. You have injured yourselves. I chide you not because I wish you ill. I have no reason to wish you ill. God is my witness, you have done me no wrong. On the contrary, you have been very good to me. The reason I write to you is because I love you.” The bitter potion must be sweetened with honey and sugar to make it palatable. When parents have punished their children they give them apples, pears, and other good things to show them that they mean well.