Paul is my favorite Apostle because he is so open and honest about his own Christian life. The following thoughts are taken from 1 Cor. 4:6-10, although I am not quoting it in the order it is written, so that we can better understand Paul’s example.
“On every side I am ever hard-pressed… always perplexed… always being persecuted… always getting knocked down…always being exposed to death as Jesus was.”
How is that for being honest to God and honest with us? We see no pretense of ‘having it all together’ in Paul’s personal life. However, this is not an exercise in self-pity.
Paul goes on to say that in spite of all these difficulties he is; “never hemmed in… never to the point of despair… not deserted… never knocked out”. At this point we might assume that Paul is about to write the first ‘self-help’ book describing how he managed to overcome all of his challenges in life. That is not the case at all!
Listen to the secret of Paul’s success in living a Christian life…
“God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shown in my heart, to give me the light of the knowledge of God’s glory, reflected on the face of Christ. But I am keeping this jewel in an earthen jar, to prove that its surpassing power is God’s not mine… so that in my body the life of Jesus may be clearly shown.”
That is how Paul began and ended this passage of Scripture. He describes his total contribution as simply seeing himself as “an earthen jar” and depending upon the “surpassing power of God”, as he faced the difficulties of life.
All people have problems! People who do not have a personal relationship with Christ have more problems than other people. They will never talk openly with Christians who pretend they have never had a problem in their entire life. If we are honest with ourselves and others, about our own difficulties, then we come across as being ‘honest to God’ Christians. I suspect that our world is wondering if that is an endangered species.
Bro. Dennis