“But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.” (Ac 20:24 AV)
Although Paul was misguided here, the foundation of his reasoning was sound. It was not the LORD’s will for him to go to Jerusalem. Calvinists have a hard time with this. I don’t know why. The Bible is filled with people who disobey the will of God. Nonetheless, Paul trips upon the key to a joy-filled life. Not counting one’s life dear to self for the sake of the ministry is one of the highest joys a saint could experience. Or so Paul and others have testified. I have never been pushed to the brink of martyrdom. I’ve had a firearm pointed at me a few times. But I have never been put in a place where laying down my life for the gospel was even remotely a requirement. The things that do not move Paul are the emotions of those who are trying to talk him out of it, the potential threats to his life by returning there, and the prophet who spoke in the Spirit and told him it was not God’s will. The point at which Paul arrived was self-sacrifice. Not some, but all. He was finally rid of all self-interest and was willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice for the gospel of Christ. This is why he found true joy. It came with the abandonment of self.
Self is a horrible companion. It wants what it wants when it wants it. Sacrifice is not in its vocabulary. The more Self is fed, the less satisfied Self becomes. When I think of the many saints that I have served with that I can list as self-sacrificial, there are a few. To point out one over another would be to leave out some who deserve to be recognized. But one couple, of whom I spent one short weekend with, comes to mind. I candidate in a church in another state and stayed with a couple while there. This couple was super-spiritual and humble. One of the two had been divorced. They had remarried. You know the type. They are the ones who cleaned the church, entertained the guest speakers, did maintenance around the church, and a host of other things. If they were to leave the church, it would fall apart. Anyway, they desired to serve in the nursery. The church elders forbade it. They thought that because they were divorced and remarried, they were not qualified to babysit children. They were beside themselves. The only ministry they were allowed to do did not involve people. They were heartbroken and asked for my advice. They wrote a letter about a month after I had been there and the decision was made not to call me as their pastor. I helped them to understand all they were doing was literally keeping the doors of the church open. Their sacrifice to serve in a limited capacity and have no ministry with people seemed cruel. It wasn’t right. But their sacrificial service meant the doors of the church stayed open and the church could reach their small hamlet with the gospel.
We look for joy in a variety of places. But no matter where we look, the opportunity to sacrifice Self is the only way we can find true and deep joy. Paul may have been misguided in the particular application of death to Self, but he wasn’t wrong regarding the principle. Remember, Paul had traveled all over Asia Minor and eastern Europe. We went as far as Rome. He accomplished much. He started churches and spread the gospel into regions that were transformed because of his ministry. But none of that compared to an opportunity to kill off Self. This is what the book of Philippians is all about. Paul learned true and deep joy can only be had when Self is truly conquered.
No comments:
Post a Comment