For the sake of you Gentiles . . .

It isn’t uncommon at the beginning of a new year to have conversations about “resolutions.” They often – in first-world contexts at least – have to do with how much weight we are going to lose; how much more disciplined we will be about exercise; maybe plans to read the Bible from cover to cover in a year; and other worthwhile ideas. This year I’ve seen a lot of Facebook postings about how many books people are planning on reading – a cause to celebrate!

I don’t know that the apostle Paul made New Year’s resolutions but a comment he makes in Ephesians 3 might suggest that his encounter with Jesus created a life-long resolution to be transformed by the gospel in ways that are remarkable. What he says that seems to suggest this to me is “”This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner of Christ for the sake of you Gentiles.” (Ephesians 3:1, NRSV) He follows that with the reminder that they “have heard of the commissions of God’s grace that was given to me for you.” (3:2)

The imprisoner has become the imprisoned – and that “for the sake of you Gentiles.” That is a fairly easy sentence to say. But if you stop for a moment and think about its implications, it says more than we can fully comprehend about the power of the gospel to transform lives. 

Prior to his encounter with Jesus, he is a raging, anti-follower of Jesus terrorist. The Pharisee of Pharisees (Philippians 3:4-6) has zero tolerance for those simpleton Jews who have decided that the Jesus story was the story of their redemption. Lest you think the word terrorist is too strong a word, read his testimony in Acts 26:9ff where, among other things, he says “”I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death.” Luke also reminds us that “Saul approved of their killing him” (Stephen) in Acts 8:1 and Acts 9, where we read the story of his encounter with Jesus, Luke begins that chapter by saying “Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest . . .”

All of that is describing his attitude toward his fellow Jews who had decided to follow Jesus. Gentiles aren’t yet invited to become a part of the kingdom. If he thinks that about his fellow Jews and is willing to murder them in the name of Jewish orthodoxy – what do you think he would have said about Gentiles? As a Pharisee among Pharisee, would he have viewed them as fully human? Objects of God’s love? Would he have ever dreamed of a day when he would sit down with a group of Gentile women “God-worshippers” in Philippi and tell them the Jesus story in transforming ways? (Acts 16:11-15) He was busy imprisoning and murdering his own people, would he have ever dreamed that one day he would rejoice over the privilege of being in jail, for perhaps four years by the time he writes Ephesians, “for the sake of you Gentiles?” Could he imagine that the imprisoner would become the imprisoned?

In those moments when I wonder about my own faith and questions like “Can I be sure this ‘stuff’ is true?” flood my consciousness, this is one of the places I always find myself coming back to review. Is there any explanation for the nearly indescribable change in the life of Saul of Tarsus other than the simple truth of the Jesus story? Honesty compels me think that the answer to that question is “No, he had to have met Jesus that day on the way to Damascus.”

My own background isn’t nearly as dramatic as was Paul’s. I’m not claiming to be “Sammy Sunday School” over the course of my life, but my story pales in comparison to Paul’s. Yet, sometimes I think I don’t have the confidence in the power of the gospel to transform my life that Paul did. But the old adage, “if it was good enough for Paul, it’s good enough for me” might be the very thing I need to focus on at the beginning of a new year to help motivate me to allow this great power to make me into something that no one who knows me would think I could be.

Paul would end up writing nearly one-half of the New Testament and probably more books have been written about him than any other biblical character other than Jesus. His literary skills are such that the greatest minds of the Christian world continue to seek to better understand him, believing that in doing so we better understand the gospel. 

But when all is said and done, despite the fact that I’ve spent my whole adult life, in part, studying what he wrote, what I view as his most important gift to the body of Christ is the example of his life. Today I’m wondering about the impact we could have on the entire world if we allowed that example to be the model for how we relate to the world around us. 

If Paul could muster up the courage to spend time in jail for people he once viewed as something less than a real human – do we even know people who would be more challenging when it comes to being Jesus to them? If he could sit down with a group of Gentiles – women no less – and have a conversation with them about Jesus and out of that conversation a kingdom post was established in Philippi, shouldn’t we be looking for similar opportunities.

Here’s the bottom line – if we let the gospel transform our lives as it did Paul’s, there simply is no telling what our list of resolutions might look like!