I needed a good reminder.
This guy Paul was multi-cultural way before it was cool.
I think with his education, his family, his religion and political views, it was hard for him to grasp the whole concept.
I don't think anything God asked him to do was easy.
Yet, being the bull-headed man he was, he was just the guy for the job.
God himself knocked him on his ass, having to teach him a few things about who was really in charge and how the whole thing was gonna go down.
Talk about a paradigm shift.
On the lighter side of things reminded, I have always thought "Blinded By The Light" should have been his theme song.
He was a pretty smart guy and learned the lessons quickly.
God was the creator of all things, he didn't really need our help because creation speaks for itself whether or not you are actually watching or listening.
He didn't need to be politically correct and wasn't afraid to say what needed to be said.
He taught that this guy, God, He's real and He isn't messin' around, and just because you don't like what is happening doesn't mean He isn't God and isn't in control. And by the way, be happy this stuff is happening to you because you are becoming a better person by getting over yourself and learning to love others more than yourself.
Paul means business when he talks about giving away all the stuff you have, because it is pretty likely someone else needs it more than you do.
Without the need for political correctness, he found himself, time and time again, in front of high ranking officials, another crazy God kind of thing, who had a bone to pick with him but could never find anything to charge him with.
He had this uncanny knack for making people so mad they had to look at the truth and admit it.
Hence the title "Apostle".
He was required to "plant things" out of the need for people to see the truth about themselves, but more importantly who God was.
His job was to bring the truth, allowing people to see who God really is and change, or they would have to reap the consequence.
The only way he could get away with saying all this stuff was because he lived his life as an example of what he believed in, and what he was willing to die for.
It was pretty clear via the whole circumcision deal that what is in your heart is what you believe God to be like.
Therefore you may need to go back and check out somethings you have swallowed hook line and sinker because it isn't in the book.
I loved that he was willing to stop all the normal stuff and have church outside with some really successful ladies.
I wonder about his personal relationships.
He was willing to love deeply and through example showed us that it is still really cool to love people more than yourself and it is really important to tell them this as well.
I don't think he had an issue with being co-dependant since he parted ways with people on a regular basis when they made bad choices and remained hard hearted towards the things of God.
Not for one second do I think this was easy for him.
I wonder if he lost sleep over Barnabas? I do.
I liked this guy Paul more than I remembered liking him, but found him to be terrifying at the same time.
I loved that just when you think it was the end of the line, God was still in control, opening door after door after door.
I had to ask myself some pretty hard questions, I guess that was what he wanted from his life.
To leave a legacy that people couldn't deny.
I don't think it bugged him to make people squirm.
I wonder if he had to work out his issues in therapy sessions before he got comfortable with the idea of living his life as a bond servant. I am not making light of inner healing and the need to process what happens to us, but at some point, myself included, we have choices to make about forgiveness, the condition of our heart and our own personal convictions.
In walking this stuff out, we are gonna make mistakes, we are gonna do things wrong, we are never going to be perfect and we just may air some of our laundry in public.
It is humiliating, or it should be, to say the least.
Yes, you may get stoned, tossed out the door, or thrown in prison.
None of it is warm and fuzzy.
Let's talk about this prison thing.
What if you did have to go to prison for what you believed in.
Better yet, what if you lived in shackles so someone would find their own personal freedom.
Could you deny yourself your personal rights and freedom?
Most of us today aren't willing to stay in a friendship, a marriage or a church if it doesn't meet our needs in the obligatory ninety day trial period never mind the needs of the other person.
We are pretty quick to say, "that wasn't God", walking away and never thinking twice or asking, was that really you, God?
Thus leading to another generation of "fatherless/motherless" families, spiritual relationship and churches.
It is painful, this stuff.
If I was honest, I would admit, I have asked God to knock a few people off their donkey and do us all a favor.
And yet, after reading about Paul, I feel like I have been knocked off my own donkey.
Here I am, sitting on the ground, needing someone to help me find my way with "Blinded by the Light" echoing in my head.
Saul, was now Paul.
His heart was changed, he couldn't see a thing, he didn't know what happened to him and he found it to be a good thing.
His life didn't belong to him and he was cool with it.
He found something he believed in more than being right and proving it on paper.
More importantly, he knew it needed to be proven in his heart.
So when all is said in done, it seems that his words "take courage" are the first step in this process.
Courage to look deeply into our hearts.
Courage to believe that the creator of this universe is looking for a relationship with us.
Courage to believe it must start with me first , there is no finger pointing, if need be, he will use a donkey to get my attention.
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