Introduction
I was thirteen or fourteen years old at the time, right in the middle of the swamp of hormones, emotions and adolescent imaginations. I was swinging back and forth between being the consummate youth group/church camp/Young Life kid and risk taking rebel sneaking my mom’s car out at night for joy rides. There was a song at the time by the Imperials called Water Grave that resonated deeply with the Young Life kid side of me. I would sing it with all my still changing voice would deliver and each time I was filled with a rush of emotion and a sneaky voice that would whisper, “man, you sound really good”. So one afternoon I gave into the curiosity of inner accolades and took my mom’s tape deck and snuck off to record myself singing the song. Y’all, it was terrible. I was shocked and humbled by how bad it was. After that I never heard the inner flatterer say anything about my singing.
In our text this week, Paul tells the readers to “examine their own work”, to deeply consider if it is really good or if it’s just we’re telling ourselves it is with no willingness to hold it up to the light (or record it on tape). But this is one of the most difficult things for us to do.
Let’s dig in this week and see what we can find,
Grace and peace y’all,
John Ray and the teaching team
Text: Galatians 6:1-18
