pondering peter and paul and choking on words

I'm leading a group of girls through Galatians this summer. I say girls because it's come to my attention that that is what women over 40 like to be called :) Nah, half of them are younger than me, I'm just messing with the few who actually ready this.

Chapter two got me to pondering, though... Paul and Peter. First generation, genu-INE apostles. Arguing.

If you sit with that one for half a minute or so you'll get a wee bit of a headache.

We count on these guys to tell us what's RIGHT. To tell us the TRUTH. And they can't even get it right? Pardon me, but what the hell?

Seriously, though, I love it. I found myself smiling. We are not so different from them. It's good to know.

Later in the chapter (in The Message paraphrase we are reading aloud together) Paul not only speaks frankly about not trying to please people, he literally says, "I'm no longer trying to impress God." That made my friend reading it choke on her words, and rightly so.

Because therein is the entire Truth of the letter. The weight of the Message.

Eugene Peterson wrote The Message because of Galatians. It all started with Galatians. Folks weren't CHOKING ON THE WORDS enough.

Good stuff... good stuff.