12Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.
This is where we see the light at the end of the tunnel! Though he is still in prison, Paul rejoices in the fact that him being there serves the purpose of advancing the gospel- his life's passion. Furthermore, he's glad that the gospel is being preached though it may be done with the intention of harming Paul (v17-18).
How wonderful it must be to know that the blood and tears you shed were not shed in vain. What greater satisfaction than to know that the treacherous journey you took was not just an random, inconvenient detour in your life but a necessary step to fulfill your life's calling.
This passage made me take another look at hardships and struggles in life in light of my ultimate goal in life. First of all, what is my ultimate goal/calling in Life? Is it from God or is it my own ambition? Am I willing to give everything I have for its fulfillment? And, are my struggles ever invested towards its fulfillment or is it more as a result of failing to stick to the ultimate plan God has for me? Paul was called to preach the Gospel, am I called to do the same and am I willing to shed blood and tears for it?
I wonder if any of you have asked the same questions but I realized that loving the Lord our God and having the willingness to lay down our lives for Him is our ultimate calling in life- no matter what we're called to 'do' for Him. Furthermore, if I have the heart to love God with all my heart, mind and strength, I would be willing and able to do whatever He calls me to do at whatever the cost.
Paul's life is an example of a man who fulfilled his calling from God because he loved the Lord with all his heart. The passion of Christ became his own and he rejoices in what the Lord rejoices in though the journey was indeed treacherous for Paul.
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3 comments:
Thanks Lynn for the wonderful and throughtful reflection of today's passage. I do wish to have faith like Paul. I do desire to have such love for Christ. Paul rejoiced in the fact that his life as God's instrument to be used to advance the Gospel. The purpose of his life on this earth was not to fulfill his own ambition and goal but to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ. There is a true contentment and peace of surrendering to the Will of GOd. V21 says,"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Christ was only source of Paul's uncontainable joy even in the midst of suffering and hardship, for Paul's life found all ite meaning and significance in Christ alone. Today we can all reflect upon our own lives and exam where we put our hope and meaning in. When everything that we possess or treasure be taken away, would we still rejoice and give thanks to God? Is God a part of your life or all in all?
thanks lynn for an excellent comment on today's passage. i too was really moved by paul's view of his imprisonment as "really serv[ing] to advance the gospel". so confident was he of Christ's purpose in his life that he saw even his incarceration as a means by which the gospel could be preached and fellow believers could be strengtheneed.
he turned out to be absolutely right, even prophetic in his assertion. paul's joy and steadfastness in the faith even in the midst of imprisonment encouraged the more timid brothers in his day to preach the gospel "more courageously and fearlessly". and throughout two thousand years of the christian church and even today, paul's faithfulness has encouraged weak and timid christians to put their trust in the Lord more wholeheartedly and to keep going in times of real struggle.
for paul, his own life was hardly a matter of consideration. instead to him, "the important thing is that in every way, Christ is preached. and because of this [he] rejoiced".
Thanks Lynn!
I was struck by verses 15-18a. Paul addresses the motives behind why we do what we do as Christians. Now after reading verse 18, it made me think that we tend to overthink too much of our motive and not of the impact of our actions. What I mean is that as Paul said it doesn't matter if we serve and spread the Gospel out of love or hate, as long as the Christ is being preach that's all that matters. I mean I bet it'd be better to do it with a loving heart but there are times when you don't want to serve or talk to someone about Christ but you do anyways. I think Paul is telling us that we have to do what we have to do, but it would be good to do it with a glad heart but even if we don't have one, it's okay as long as we see it through.
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