What We do for Jesus Today may have Centuries of Effect
Did Paul understand that his letters would be instructing us some 2000 years later? I doubt that even a great Apostle like Paul had quite that insight. He knew he was participating in the biggest shift the world had even known, but could he conceive how his words would impact us?
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
These words were a part of my every morning devotions today. A simple blessing that I have passed along and had quoted to me. But something in my spirit moved this morning as I read them. It hit me as a generational blessing!
Romans was written by Paul, apparently before he had ever visited there. It was written from Corinth, a Greek city. (Swindoll) Paul was witnessing some of humanity's great debauchery in this affluent town. Idol worship, sexual immorality, drunken sailors, cheating businessmen… a list we could compile in almost any first world city today. His conversion to Jesus left him heartbroken for the human condition.
Allow me to refresh his testimony for you. Saul, Paul’s given name grew up in the synagogue as a Pharisee. He was zealous for his Jewish heritage and believed by persecuting Christians he was working with God. He was a witness and cloak monitor while Stephen was martyred. He had authority, receiving letters from the High Priest to seek out any who follow The Way. (The Jesus movement of the early church.)
Saul journeys to Damascus, where the disciples fled persecution, to hunt them down and bring them back to face the fate of Stephen. On the road he meets Jesus, the resurrected Christ. (See Acts 9:3-6) The experience left him temporarily blind and a follower of Christ.
After this radical conversion Paul set out with as much zeal for his new found faith as he had for his traditional Jewish laws. He wrote much of the New Testament, which are actually letters to the Churches he planted and strengthened during his mission trips.
So back to the original question, did Paul write Romans 15:13 knowing it would bless and instruct me, Terri Krupp, in the year 2025? Yes! But no. Because Paul knew how despicable the human condition could be, starting with his own faith journey, he obediently poured his life out for others. He called it a, “drink offering,” for the followers who would continue on after him. (See 2 Timothy 4:6)
Paul’s simple and confident obedience to Christ ushered him into a position of influence, which led him to write to the people he had come to love. He once loved the rules and the law, but now he loved those who suffered from the wages of sin needlessly, Jesus had shown him the better way.
May the words of Paul, formerly Saul, the Pharisee turned Apostle of Jesus Christ, fill you with all joy and peace in believing! Now go share what you have heard.
Happy Honeymooning!
“ I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. “ (Romans 15:14)