Paul

Saul, later known as Paul, was and is the greatest missionary to live after the resurrection of Jesus along with my role model.  Paul wrote many letters which were later compiled into books named after those they were written to.  Paul was the author of Romans, 1^st and 2^nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1^st and 2^nd Thessalonians, 1^st and 2^nd Timothy, Titus, and Philemon for a grand total of 13 out of 27 books in the New Testament.    Almost half the entire New Testament!  The Holy Spirit truly did a work through him.

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A little background is necessary in order to show the complete transformation of this amazing disciple.  Saul was one of the first persecutors of the church before he became a great missionary.  Acts 9:1-2 shows a little piece of his life, “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.  He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.”  In verse three, Jesus comes to him in the form of a light and tells Saul to stop hunting down his people.  Saul is blinded for the remaining three days of the journey.  Once in Damascus, Saul met with a saint named Ananias who healed and baptized Saul after receiving a vision.   Now Ananias was very aware of what Saul had been doing to saints in Jerusalem, but God told him in verse 15, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.”  It’s amazing to think that God planned to use Saul for his glory from the very start.

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Saul became so on fire for God that he had numerous attacks on his life.  Even only a month or so after his conversion, the Jewish leaders conspired to kill him.  “Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.  After many days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him.” ~Acts 9:22-23; “He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him.” ~Acts 9:29.  It became so unsafe for him that the other followers of Christ had to send him off to Tarsus so he wouldn’t get killed!  It was probably safer for him to be a persecutor of the Church than a convert for it, but I think that the more he was prosecuted, the stronger the missionary he became.  He even stood up against the council at Jerusalem for the gentiles (non-Jews) to become saved as well.  Of course, he was also thrown into prison a few times, and even shipwrecked in a prison transfer.  Through it all he maintained his evangelistic out-look on life.  For example, while in prison Paul often would witness to the guards that were keeping him. 

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Paul fought for God until the bitter end.  Paul died a sinner’s death much like Christ’s on the cross.  However, to keep Christ’s death on the cross holy, Paul requested to be hung upside down on his cross.  1 Corinthians 1:13 refers to Paul’s death as a crucifixion, confirming that even in his dying moments, Paul’s ministry to God and the spreading of Jesus’ great gift came before himself.