I don’t know what one word I would use to describe Paul if I were limited to one word. Perhaps something will come to mind as we look through his letters. Today one particular word comes to mind – tenacious, though I wish there was a better word for spiritual tenacity.
Here Paul is addressing the Ephesian elders with what would be his farewell address. He recounted his ministry there, and then moved on to the future. He did not know what lay ahead, except he knew there was going to be trouble and difficulty and that he would face imprisonment and tribulations.
Yet as he looked down the road he said this – “None of these things move me, I don’t really consider what happens to me important. All I want to do is finish my race with joy. All I want to do is the ministry that God gave me – to testify of God’s grace>”
Paul knew that his future would probably land him in jail, that he would be beaten, and that at the end of the day it would cost him his life. Yet, he could say, “None of these things move me, all I want to do is finish my race with joy.”
As I write my heart is smitten with conviction. I just saw this morning that the value of the dollar has fallen to 1.45 to the euro. When I read that I got a sick feeling in my stomach. I thought about the fact that we are renting. I thought about the fact that the landlord is probably going to raise the rent. I thought about what we are going to do about the weak dollar and how bad it is going to get. Even now as I type the thoughts are going through my head.
No matter what happens next we still have a race to run. We still have a ministry to accomplish. We still have a testimony of God’s grace to share.
No comments:
Post a Comment