“I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin.I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleasedto reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.” (Galatians 1:11-17 NIV)
As you read the passage above, you saw what it had to say about Paul’s previous life, Paul’s prism of understanding God through Judaism, Paul’s preaching the gospel in that present time, and his revelation from Jesus Christ. In the passage, you read about Paul’s past before preaching, as he was preoccupied with persecuting the church of God and trying to destroy it. Not to be overlooked is the fact concerning exactly when Paul was set apart. It went back to a past before the past, yes, a past before the past that people were aware. Let me try to make it plain. It went past, in a backward direction, to a time before the Damascus Road, and his time on Straight Street (Check that out in The Book of Acts, if you need to.) Can I make it even more plain? I think I can, just based on what is written in the text above. You see, Paul was set apart from his mother’s womb by God’s grace. What’s the point?
Well, I will not let you down. Of course, I have a purpose for pointing to when Paul was set apart. After unknowingly being set apart, a lot unfolded in Paul’s life, but at the time God saw fit, the Apostle Paul experienced a change in his direction, a change in his devotion, and a dedicated change in his duty as a disciple, and man with a mission designated directly from Jesus. In time, Paul’s previous purpose was eventually replaced by the ultimate, in this life, purpose, the purpose that God had for him.
The same thing could happen today in the lives of other men and women. So, those who you think will never amount to anything as it relates to playing a prominent role in the growth of the kingdom, don’t discount or prematurely deny what the Lord may have in mind for them. If you do, you may act unbecomingly and the un-seemingly will never become the seemingly. We just never know what God has planned. For all a person’s experiences, once God becomes the head of their lives, God has a specific purpose for them, a purpose one that preceded their birth. Get this now! All those experiences will work out for good. In the meantime, all we can do is pray for those who are going the wrong direction, present them with the gospel truth and the principles of godly living that we adhere to, practice treating others as we would like to be treated, and proclaim the fact that we too were lost and now we are found. We too were going the wrong way, but grace intervened, and we stopped going astray. Thank God that is not just a change maker in the circumstances of life! But God can change people too! Let’s be transparent! We too, come on and be honest about it now; we too were headed in the wrong direction until God’s divine grace brought a distinctive, marvelous change in our lives. Praise Him for the change He made in you! And listen! Don’t ever tell someone they will never amount to anything, for God may have something planned for them for the good of the His kingdom. Perhaps pray with them that God will reveal to them that plan, sooner than later.
I’m finished for today, but please remember, there is a past you that you cannot see in the lives of individuals! Just think about that for a moment. Have a great day! Before you start out, praise God again! Make some more noise! Be blessed!
“And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.” (Romans 8:28 The Amplified Bible)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King