Paul

We can clearly see, as we read through most of the New Testament, that the Apostle Paul had one great passion in his life from the moment he was apprehended by the Savior on the road to Damascus, and that passion, of course, was Jesus Christ Himself.

He lived the remainder of his life indebted to his Lord, and openly referred to himself, time and time again, as the servant, or slave, of Jesus....

What though, was his great desire for those among whom he ministered and interacted? As I look at his epistles and ponder this, I'm amazed at the consistency and tenacity of this remarkable man of God.

 He knew his unique position of authority among his peers, as one to whom Christ appeared and spoke personally, yet he never 'lorded' it over either those who were believers before he was, or even his own converts. He exercised that authority with the grace God had given him, and his love for God- and for humanity- Jew and Gentile alike, governed everything he did....

Paul was always seeking to impart the things of God to the people of God- Some fruit of the Holy Spirit, something of the mind of Christ, something to further their usefulness, their maturity, their own selfless love toward others.

Paul was neither selfish nor vain, as he sought to not only minister the grace of God to others, but to receive grace from others, as well- "I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end you may be established; that is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me Romans 1:11 - 12.

 No vainglory here, no 'I'm up here and you're down there' attitude, just a man grateful to his Lord and eager to see God's grace moving in the lives of his converts. "That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed Romans 15:32....

Paul was grieved when he heard that some of his converts were drifting away from the truth- "I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 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...2 Corinthians 11: 2-3.

 He would strongly exhort his Gentile converts to give of their finances to help the poor saints in Jerusalem, a work they had started, but not yet completed, "Now therefore perform the doing of it, that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which you have 2 Cor. 8:11.

 He would strongly denounce the false teachers who would come in after him, and try to undo his work, and this happened a number of times- and through all of it, you can see and feel Paul's love and concern for his people, and his great desire that they walk with the same passion that he himself had for his Lord.

 This is what he was all about, and even when he wanted to depart and be with Jesus, he felt that his converts would benefit from his staying on, "I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you...Philippians 1:23- 24...

Now, we could easily go much deeper into this look at the Apostle, (and you will no doubt want to study his life more fully) but I hope you have a little better idea of where Paul's heart was, both in terms of his relationship to God, and in this little study, his great desire for his people.

God bless you-   
Jim Ewing