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Paul’s back story. Even in Paul’s own account of his back story he is pointing to God’s glory. He is establishing the connection to Christ and the authority of the gospel he is preaching because he was called to preach it to us the gentiles. He downplays the details of his story for the clarity of the message.
When I think of Paul I think he must have been a serious guy who probably didn’t have a sense of humor. I mean I don’t really know but to go persecute a religious group doesn’t sound like a light weekend activity. His conversion seems like he had to have a 2×4 to the head to get through to him.
It is interesting that Paul gets alone time with Jesus and he still points out the headship of God by saying “

Galatians 1:16

[16] was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;

Paul’s account of his first interactions with the apostles is interesting but I would love to have more details. I guess I shouldn’t second guess God’s word.
I am very grateful for Paul. He is the messenger of the gospel to gentiles so without him I probably wouldn’t know Jesus.

Pauls greeting. I wonder what it was like to have such a sense of purpose and calling as Paul did. His greeting makes it clear that he knows that he is called by Christ. I mean I guess if I had the experience he did with being blinded by a light etc. and all that I would be confident in my calling too. I’m not saying I don’t know I have a calling I am just remembering how in the beginning of my walk with Christ I struggled with it and it even now my confidence to be bold doesn’t look anything like Paul’s greeting. Paul seems to know he is God’s tool and he wields it boldly.
Paul is astonished. Paul sees that the Galatians are being misled by a false gospel and is frustrated with this. I think of my kids and how frustrated I get when they don’t do the things they know they supposed to do. I am amazed by the logic or lack of logic they use when they explain why they didn’t do what they were supposed to do. I look at my own heart and think about how often I lose sight of the gospel. Usually it is more simple than I lost sight of the gospel and more I am selfish and don’t want to see the gospel. In 1-10 it doesn’t give the details so I am not sure what their motives were but Paul does point out that the folks misleading the church are accursed. Seek God’s approval not man’s, easier said than done. I don’t really think of peer pressure but acceptance of others around me even believer friends, especially believer friends. I’m still not “real” with everyone and a concerned with how people perceive me. I’m even more concerned with how my wife sees me than how God sees me. I’m just being honest. I struggle and stress to not fail so the world doesn’t know how big a failure I am. I’m sure Paul would be astonished. God isn’t astonished but I know He desires my heart. Well that’s Galatians 1:1-10.

My heart is heavy with an the news coming out about the Texas school shooting. I have an eleven year old and a nine and six year old so I am broken hearted for the parents of the children who were killed.
When I first read about the shooting, the first thing I did was find and hold my littles and prayed for comfort for the parents involved and that somehow God would draw people to Himself through this horror.

I will not make a political statement only lament the loss and trust God has a plan.

A Rhetoric of Love Volume 2 is a great book. This is a Ted talk by the author, Michael A. Collender. This is worth your time to watch.

If you are like my family and am homeschooling your kids this question will come up. Some parents have told me that they believe fiction has many non-christian elements and themes that could lead their little angel astray. Other parents are more practical and just believe it is a waste of time and non-fiction is a better use of the limited educational time available.

Let’s explore the issue of truth and fiction first. We all want our children to know and love God’s truth, the gospel. Is it true to say that the truth is not found in fiction? I don’t believe so. If we look in the Bible we see fiction used to make the truth better understood and more real to the reader. The Bible has characters like the potter, the sower, the shepherd, and the prodigal son, that could all be called fiction. Other fictional elements like the sheep, bread, seeds, and the Word. We see stories and parables throughout scripture.

Why would God use fiction in the Bible?

The truth is easier to know and understand using an existing relationship with characters and elements such as the ones used in the Bible stories and parables. There is another reason to use fiction…emotion and impact. Fiction can move someone when knowledge sometimes falls short. An example of this is the story(fiction) Nathen, the old testament prophet, uses to convict the heart of king David. David had stolen Uriah’s wife and has Uriah killed when God sends Nathen to him. Nathan could have just confronted David with the facts but God lead Nathen to use a story(fiction) to “kindle David’s anger” before revealing David’s sin. Imagine the impact of that fiction over the facts, David is crushed by his sin. Fiction can move us in an emotional way that just facts or knowledge can’t.

Is fiction a waste of time?

Fiction exercises our imagination, our ability to see what could be. I want to be Christlike, it takes imagination to see myself acting Christlike. I see myself using imagination to see myself reacting well to difficult situations and confrontation. You get the idea, we are called to be something we have not yet become and fiction helps me see in a more real way the person Christ wants me to be. I believe fiction doesn’t have to be a waste of time.

We should be discerning in what fiction we read or allow our children to read but I don’t think we should avoid fiction.

My wife and daughters were out shopping and found this Santa that they couldn’t resist getting. I don’t know what they were thinking.