What was Paul's deal?
"What do you think God cares about the most?"
In one word, Pastor Steve Cecil says, "People."
The Apostle Paul was passionate about his people. So much so that in Romans 9:1-5 he says he would be "cursed and cut-off from Christ" for their sake. Do we have that same passion for the people of Madison? And is that ok or is it too passionate?
The bottom line is that hopefully we all care at least somewhat, but could we be more passionate?
How do we get the same passion for people that Paul had? One way that we discussed was through conversations. Real, honest, unselfish conversations. What do you think?
So...how passionate for people are you? Do you want to see them come to Christ so badly that you'd give up your own connection to Christ for that to happen?
Keep the conversation going, ladies and gentlemen...
2 comments:
One thing I noticed is that Paul is talking about the Jews specifically in this passage. Paul was a Jew of the highest degree before he converted to Christianity so he has a very special connection to them. The Jews didn't then and still do not believe Christ is the Messiah and this caused Paul incredible anguish. How does that relate to us and Madisonians? How are they "our people" like the Jews were Paul's?
Hey guys,
I hope that this finds you well. This is Scott posting a shout out from Denver. All is well here, I hope and pray that the same applies to the Journeyers in Madison. Anyway, I've been thinking about this posting for awhile and I have a few thoughts. I think that when one asks "What does God care most about?" the answer cannot be people. I think a more appropriate answer is "Himself" or "His glory". The reason that I say this is because if God is truly a God worthy of our worship. He must value supremely that which is most supremely valuable. And when one asks what is the thing or being of supreme value, the answer clearly is God. I know that this sounds really off-base because if a person were ultimately most concerned with him/herself, we would call that vanity and they would be guilty of sin, but just because that holds true for people doesn't equate to it being true of God. I think God would cease to be God if He weren't the object of his deepest love. Furthermore, I think that it is only because God loves himself above all else that we as human beings have any hope of finding love and meaning and hope in Him. We as humans are only important in the fact that we were made in God's image. He cares about us because He cares about Himself first and we were made in His image and thus it grieves Him to see that which was intended for glory to be in such a fallen and broken state. Anyway, in reference to Paul, I think that the reason that he cared so deeply for the Jews is because Christ was what He cared most about. Paul's passion for people flowed out of his passion for Christ. As he says in Philippians 3, he considers all things as worthless compared to knowing Christ. Paul's love for others was an extension of His love for God.
These are just some of my thoughts...although they were influenced somewhat by John Piper's "Desiring God". It is my hope and prayer that we would first and foremost be a people who care most about God because when we do that we cannot help but care about that which He cares about, namely people created in His image. I hope and pray all is well for y'all. You are in my prayers. Peace and grace,
Scott Jablonski
Post a Comment