Paul's sharpest letter

As we all ran quickly from the scene of the crime, we heard the old lady yell at us, “You troublemakers!” Once again all my little cronies and I had successfully snagged some fresh corn from behind the old lady’s house. We ate it and thrived on the mischievous high of getting away with yet another prank. Or so we thought. Sure enough, that mean old lady called our mothers and in a rage reported our wrongdoings. We were busted.
Paul found himself in a situation somewhat similar when writing the Galatians. Troublemakers had come among them preaching their own version of the doctrine of Christ. In sheer anger, Paul writes perhaps the ‘sharpest’ letter of his life. It was for good reason. Just like the old lady – he was right. And the troublemakers were wrong.
Now that I’m older, I’ve learned that self-gratification and self-aggrandizement at the expense of others in ANY shape or form is never right. The blasphemy of reassurance through comparison poisons the soul. We are not MORE special. When we realize we are special in His eyes because of who we are – then and only then are we able to find true contentment.
The “troublemakers” in Galatia weren’t stealing corn. They were robbing others of something of infinite value. They stole the confidence of those seeking Christ. Through their ideas they declared that they were not worthy of the Lord’s atonement. Ironically, this very pain-instilling action had been suffered for by the very Master they claimed to know. Paul’s anger runs deep because of his deep knowledge of the converting power of the Savior Resurrected. He knew personally that the Savior could change ANY man. Paul, having received this witness, knew of the Atonement’s vast importance.
Thankfully, a sin as grievous as those of the young ruffians stealing from the old lady or the crime committed by the troublemakers of Galatia are wrongs we know little of and never make. WRONG! Every time we judge those around us we are in some small way saying, “The Atonement can’t change that person.”
Truth: The power of the Atonement is real. And it is accessible by the boy, the man, the Jew, the Gentile, and any who seek it.