Galatians 1-2
I thought Galatians would be fairly simple. 6 chapters. Then I went to the commentary that has 147 pages of background information. The "gospel" of good news got complicated - even before commentaries! The big question for Paul is - is there one church or two? Quite an interesting question considering the number of denominations in our western world today.
I experienced the gospel in an amazing way this past week. 479 children from all denominations came together for a week of experiencing the good news. I had a group of 11 of the smartest, caring, kind fifth graders I have ever been around. Paul would have been also been pleased to see all the groups of our church coming together to make this a wonderful week happen - youth, senior adults, Sunday School classes, staff, etc. It was magnificent! Praise God.
So, back to Paul and Galatia. Other "missionaries" appear to be focusing on rules that turn people away from the heart of the gospel - a gospel of grace. The transforming power of God's surprising call for Paul resulted in Paul's changing from a persecutor to an apostle. Anything that separates people from one another is troubling for Paul.
One of my favorite verses is Galatians 2:20a "...it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me".
How far would you go to break down the walls that Christians put up between one another?
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