Paul reminds the Galatians that when they were' enslaved by paganism, they did not know God. He then asks them why they want to turn back, not this time to paganism, but to all the complicated ritual observances and customs that characterized Judaism-the keeping of special days, festivals, and so on. They had been freed from one kind of slavery and were now trying to go back to another (4:8-11). He expresses deep personal concern for them (4: 11). Paul asks the Galatians to be like him (as he had done to the Corinthians) and in 4:12-16 he refers to his first meeting with them, when he had been seriously ill and they had welcomed him among them with great friendliness. What had happened to change all this? In 4: 17-20 he compares his love for them to a mother's love for her children: he wants to see .them become spiritually mature as a mother wants to see her children grow up well into adulthood. He warns the Galatians against the Judaizers who are trying to force a split between Paul and the Galatian churches.