"And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there." Acts 20:22
What obedience and faithfulness! Paul understood the reality of the task at hand and the importance of the task. How different this world would be if we were not so caught up with ourselves and truly gave our life to Christ-gave up our desires, our "needs," our dreams, and truly lived with the attitude of Paul. He considered his life worth nothing and the only way to have value was by being obedient to the Lord's command of testifying to the gospel of God's grace. That was the only thing that gave him value-not a job, not his family, not his looks, not the size of his house, not his level of his education, no stuff gave him any value. His obedience gave him value.
After the Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus, his life no longer belonged to him, but it was the Lord's. God truly was his Lord, his master and his ruler. No, Paul was not worried about things of this world. He delighted in his sufferings, in his singleness, and in the Lord, who loved Paul (and all of us) and gave Himself for him (and the rest of us). If he was going to be imprisoned-great! If he was to be a martyr-even better! He never stopped, nothing would or could ever stop him. He didn't care about safety. He cared about souls. Imagine the impact we could have by emptying ourselves and being filled only with the love and desires of the Father?
Father, give me your heart for souls. Help me to not see people, but to see eternal beings.
-Allison
July 7, 2015
July 7, 2015
"If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?" -David Livingstone
