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Apostle Paul, Art, Bible, Caravaggio, christianity, courage, Jesus, Painting, religion, spirit, Sunday Scripture
“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ–to the glory and praise of God.
Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved–and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for Him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.”
~ Philippians 1:3-30
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret – it leads only to evil.
~ Psalm 37:7-8
Notes: All of today’s paintings are depictions of the apostle Paul, the man who is, of course, speaking in this letter to the Philippians. After his conversion on the road to Damascus, Paul devoted the rest of his life to spreading the gospel of Jesus, facing harsh persecution, and ultimately death. As tolerance of our Lord and we, His followers, is once again on the decline, we must never forget those who came before us, making even the ultimate sacrifice that we in the future might come to know Christ Jesus as Lord. No seed is too small. And many seeds sown ultimately yield a great harvest. May we always stand firm in one spirit together, having sufficient courage to never fear those who oppose the gospel we preach.
Today’s paintings are: Caravaggio’s “Conversion on the Way to Damascus”, 1600-01; Caravaggio’s “The Conversion of Saint Paul”, 1600; Domenico Morelli’s “The Conversion of Saint Paul”, 1876; and Mattia Preti’s “The Martyrdom of Saint Paul”, 1656-59
Dan Antion said:
Thanks you for wrapping such an important message in such awesome beauty. This message has moved many before us. I hope it continues to move souls in the future.
Wendy Brydge said:
I hope so too, Dan. I hope so too.
paul b austin said:
I was teased and bullied because i was a boy who developed breasts when i attended a Catholic school, and the priests in charge did little to stop it. That caused me to drift away from Christianity for many years. I came to realise that even priests are flawed humans.
Wendy Brydge said:
I am very sorry to hear that, Paul. I have a relative who had the very same issue as a child and was teased relentlessly for it. And I myself was overweight in my youth and also was bullied for it. But you’re correct: EVERYONE is a flawed human being. There is nothing special about any man (or woman), no matter if they wear a collar or stand in the pulpit, give themselves a fancy title, or claim that they’re sinless. It doesn’t matter if you’re Catholic, Protestant, Baptist or Pentecostal. No one is sinless. The flesh is, in and of itself, sinful, so as long as we are tethered to it, we are sinners. Contrary to a lot of church teaching, coming to Jesus does NOT mean that we stop sinning, and I believe anyone who says otherwise is desperately mistaken, and lulling himself (and others) into a false and dangerous sense of security — eternal security, which is simply NOT a valid thing.
I’m very glad to hear that you eventually came to the realization that the (in)action of the priests was not a negative reflection on Christianity, but rather a harsh truth of life — we all make mistakes.
Paul in the Bible discusses doing the wrong thing even when you know to do the right thing in Romans 7:14-20: “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”
Jesus commanded that we do unto others as we would have done unto us. In other words, don’t do to anybody else what you wouldn’t appreciate having done to you. This is what we must strive to do, every day, in every way. But the fact is, no matter how much we love Jesus, sometimes we’re going to fail. But if Jesus loves us back, then by the grace of God, those sins will be forgiven. Lord knows we all need saving.
paul b austin said:
Wasn’t easy looking a lot like a girl. my femmed condition meant my parents pushed me into girl things for the sake of their well-being. Hard to be a boy when you look all tits and lipstick. It culminated in the school dance. At least you wouldn’t have made me take a male date as if i was my sister Miranda. or made me wear a dress that like most prom and party dresses was designed for tits and arse.