The Main Thing – by Toni Babcock
"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ," (II Corinthians 11:3 KJV).
I sat in church one Sunday and heard a profound statement from the pastor behind the pulpit. It went something like this: "The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing." Now maybe that doesn't strike a chord of profundity in your head, but the words stuck in mine all the way home. In fact, I have found great spiritual gain in learning to keep the main thing the main thing. As in Jesus is the main thing. What he did on the cross for me is the main thing. Believing His word is the main thing. Walking by faith is the main thing.
As for the Galatians, they were beginning to forget what the main thing was. They were returning to ritualism as the main thing. They were beginning to believe the teachings and traditions of men were the main thing. Perhaps they thought their church was the main thing. All in all, they were forgetting what the main thing was! Gradually their standing in grace began to get complicated and called into question, until Paul wrote, "…I stand in doubt of you," (Galatians 420b KJV).
It's important that Christians keep the main thing the main thing. It might be the best advice this Christian has ever heard.
Toni M. Babcock is a Christian writer and author of The Stone Writer, Christian Fiction for Young Readers and Teens. Contact
