One missionary friend always captures my attention by scrawling a special message to me in red ink across the top of his formally typed prayer letter and drawing red arrows to several paragraphs circled in red. The main points of the letter shout out at me. Once I see them, I know what the letter is all about; the rest expands and explains.

Paul grabs our attention in the introduction of his letter to the Galatians by filling the typical formal greetings with two strong emphases: his God-given authority and his Christ-centered message. Once you grasp these points, you have the gist of the whole letter.