… which he entrusted to me.
Summary: Paul didn’t have an instruction book on how to share the Gospel. He just did it.
Question: What was entrusted to Paul?
Answer: “[T]he gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God…”
Question: Who entrusted it to Paul?
Answer: God.
Question: End of meditation?
Answer: No.
There is something powerfully personal in this short bit of Scripture. Paul is humbly stating a fact. The fact is that the God of All Things, Creator of the Universe, Maker of earth and sky and sea, and Father to us all, chose Paul out of all people to be responsible for making the Gospel known.
Yes, there were other Apostles, too. Some also wrote letters that ended up in the New Testament. And yes, Luke, who wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts of the Apostles, wrote more words than all of Paul’s letters combined. However, no one else has been more influential in conveying the essential nature of the Gospel than Paul.
Why?
God gave him a task to do, and he accepted it. After his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), Paul was completely humbled. You might say he was a broken man after meeting Jesus.
While we know some of the details of Paul’s encounter with the Lord, we don’t know all of them. What we do know is that Paul received more instructions from the Lord that we are not privy to (Galatians 1:12).
We also know something else.
Paul wasn’t given a free pass. He didn’t get a written certificate from God that he could show to people. He had no “Advanced Revelation Degree” that he could frame and hang on his wall. All he had was the message and the task entrusted to him.
If you ever run across a little book by Elbert Hubbard titled “A Message to Garcia,” I recommend it. It is an inspirational read based on the story of a man named Rowan. In 1895, Cuba went to war with Spain to shake off Spanish control. A man named Calixto García was a prominent insurgent leader in Cuba. President McKinley needed to get a message to Garcia, but no one knew where he was or how to reach him. The man, Rowan, was given the message and, against all odds and untold personal cost, delivered it.
Entrusted with a message and a mission, Rowan made it happen. He and Paul have this in common: They didn’t quibble or complain. They just got the job done.
Application: Our job is to believe in Jesus (John 6:29).
Food for Thought: How does waiting for someone to prepare us for our mission affect the outcome?
I think it takes the outcome out of our hands and places it in God’s hand. As long as we are faithful to what the Lord gives us as a task, when He gives it, we can leave the results up to Him. It also emphasizes the need to make disciples. God has left that task to us (Matthew 28: 19) and He uses that to prepare us and others for His work.
Thank you, Rich!
Being faithful to the Lord is what it is all about! 🙂
How does waiting for someone to prepare us for our mission affect the outcome?
Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us “run with patience the race that is set before us,”
Isaiah 40:31, But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; “they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
James 5:7-8, Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Many years ago, I was called by Jesus, who sent a believer in Christ to introduce me to mens Bible Study Fellowship where our Lord began opening my heart to His truths. As God began opening His truths to me, I became excited and wanted to tell the world. A brother advised me to wait on the Lord, the few times I disregarded this advice, I was shot down in flames.
As time passed, I experienced growth in Christ, and at some point Gods Spirit began speaking to others through me, and I received the great blessing of being used by God as He effectively revealed His truths to those He brought into my sphere of influence.
Today the urgancy remains, as I live according to Gods timing and have the pleasure of experiencing His power as He choses to make Himself known to others.
Thank you, Ron!
I like how you framed your response around Jesus. Well said!