and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21)
June 19, 2009 (Friday)
Each Friday blog is about the Apostle Paul’s life and ministry. Last week we left Paul on his way back to Jerusalem at the end of the Third Missionary Journey, bearing a special offering from the mostly Gentile churches to the predominantly Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. The gift was to alleviate the suffering of the poor, and to express unity among Christians everywhere.
After three years in Ephesus on the third missionary trip, Paul spent three months in Corinth, and most of that time was spent in writing the treatise on Justification by Faith that we know as the Book of Romans in the New Testament. This was perhaps the chief literary contribution of Paul. It established once and for all that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and not by any other way. It has had an enormous impact upon the history of Christianity, and thus the history of the world.
After leaving Corinth, Paul made his way back to Jerusalem, hiring a small ship and, with his several companions, visiting the churches en route. When they reached Miletus, he called for the elders of the Ephesian church to meet with him and his friends. He shared with them once again the basic gospel and emphasized its overriding importance, also letting them know he fully realized the dangers that awaited him in Jerusalem, and emphasizing that he was ready to die for the Faith.
A touching scene ensued, and the parting saw many tears shed by people who had come to love each other because of their common love for Jesus. Soon Paul was to reach Jerusalem and an entirely new phase of his life was to begin. In the end he will say that he kept the faith, as he most certainly did. He set a great example for each of us, and we should be able to say with him, ‘To me to live is Christ!”