There’s no New Testament person, excluding Jesus, that I admire more than the Apostle Paul. It’s truly amazing how much endurance and boldness that Paul exhibited throughout his ministry.
In all of the ways possible, it’s my desire to be like the Apostle Paul and do as he commands the church in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 11:1 when he says:
“Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.”
But there’s a characteristic that we have to have that exceeds that of the Apostle Paul- we have to have a greater faith.
I promise I’m not being heretical. Let me ask you a question- why did Paul believe in the Lord Jesus? It wasn’t because he was given information about Jesus- he most certainly was, and he refused to believe.
No, Paul believed in Jesus because Jesus struck him with blindness and spoke directly to him. It was at this point that Paul skipped faith entirely. He simply went from not believing in Jesus to knowing that Jesus was the Christ. Note that I say knowing instead of believing.
Paul believed because Jesus revealed himself to Paul supernaturally. You don’t have to have faith in Jesus when he confronts you like Jesus did Paul, however, you still have to acknowledge him as Lord in order to be his follower.
We, on the other hand, have to believe without the benefit of a supernatural experience, and Jesus himself tells us that this is more blessed in John 20:29-
“Jesus said…, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”
Paul didn’t have to have faith like we have to have faith, but he still had to make the same decision that we have to make – to follow or not to follow.
Let us all for all of our lives be imitators of Paul and dedicate every aspect of our lives possible to following after Jesus with all of our might.
And don’t be jealous of Paul getting to hear the voice of Jesus. One day soon, we will get to hear the voice of Jesus as well.
Much love!
Wes LeFlore (918) 607-8489 or huskerwes1@gmail.com
