I contend that Paul was a most interesting choice by God to continue the spread of the Gospel after the book of Acts. He was a militant Jew, and here he is taking the Gospel to the Gentiles. Wouldn't he have been a better choice to take the Gospel to the Jews? Perhaps if you or I were writing this, but not for God. But then again, I don't think we would have chosen the harp playing, tiny shepherd boy David as King of Isreal over his brothers.
The Gospel is not always a popular message. Oh, sure, we like the idea of salvation. But becoming a living sacrifice? Counting everything else as dung compared to knowing Christ? (I like my home and car.) Being content in ALL circumstance? (I prefer to whine now and then.)
Paul was not a people pleaser, he was a Gospel preacher. Paul did not get the Gospel from someone else, he received it directly from Christ himself (Gal. 1:11). And I think for that, Paul was eternally grateful.
The change in Paul's life was evident. Going from persecuting the church to embracing it. Going from being a zealous Jew to preaching to the gentiles. I can imagine what his old friends must have been saying about him, when they weren't trying to kill him. So maybe Paul was the best man for the job. Who better to proclaim the message of salvation than someone who had nothing to gain from it and nothing to lose.
2 comments:
Paul has always impressed me. He didn't seem to go the way of professional ministry. He made tents and seemed to not want to owe anyone. He seemed to have deep relationships and discipled many. He wasn't a preacher who came to preach "revival" for a week and then leave. He stayed with people for long periods of time. And they wept when he left. Maybe that kind of love and passion is why God chose Paul?
Paul is quite incredible. So different from what we are used to today. Humble and yet bold at the same time.
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