Galatians 6:11 - THE MIGHTY PEN!

"See how great letters to you I wrote by my hand."

-There is power in presence, to be sure, but let us not underestimate the power of the pen.  Mightier than the sword, this.  The pen has historically been a tool for conveying ideas, particularly to communicate those to an audience not physically present at this time or in this place.  And ideas change the world.  They launch revolutions and bring down regimes.  With the advent of things like the printing press, the typewriter, and now multiplied forms of digital media, the pen is no doubt fading out of use in many circles.  Far easier to shoot off a quick email or a text.  Texting in fact is replacing speaking on the phone or face-to-face.  Instead of getting up and walking across the hall or into the next room to speak with a family member or co-worker, you can simply fire off a quick text.  We are so busy.  Or tired.  Or lazy.  Or some combination thereof.  Is there not still power in taking the time - the extra time - in this modern age of so much progress - to speak directly to someone - in their presence, or to pick up the phone, or even to pen a letter to a fellow believer, a friend or loved one?  Increasingly so, a hand-written letter can carry a weight of impact unmatched by any other form of non-face-to-face communication.

-To the point, the ideas in this letter have been preserved and passed down thru the ages and continue to revolutionize countless lives.  But in Paul’s immediate context, he perhaps was more interested in making sure that the Galatians knew for sure that he was the one who wrote this letter.  Not some stand-in, he was not dictating.  It was certainly no imposter.  No, this was Paul, the very same apostle who planted their church to begin with.  The fact that he was taking the time to write this letter himself conveyed the value he attached to this epistle and to these believers.  He mentions using large letters - it is possible that some portion of this letter is written in large letters.  It would be the same idea as using bold or underline or all caps - you are trying to EMPHASIZE A POINT.  And Paul’s point repeatedly throughout this letter WHICH HE WROTE HIMSELF is that the message of the Cross of Christ and life in His Spirit is incompatible with the law of circumcision.