Paul was a manly man. When you read about him, you won’t find a sentence that describes him that way. But, clearly, he was the polar opposite of a wimp. And, yes, I know that’s a polarizing statement. But I stand by it.
Because if anyone was ever the polar opposite of weak, it was Paul.
And I guess I should clear up which Paul I’m talking about. If you’ve followed my Rhymes and Reasons for even a little while, I’m sure you know the answer. But if you’re new to the Funderworld, the Paul I refer to (consistently and often) is the guy who started out as Saul.
When it comes to this whole “Christianity thing,” Saul started off on the polar opposite of the right side. Yeah, he got off to a VERY bad start. You could say (as I’m about to say) Saul’s journey was possibly described in an old AC/DC song, “Highway to Hell.”
I don’t know, for certain, that Saul would have gone to hell. But I DO know he started out against Jesus. And that’s not a winnable position to take. Ironically, Saul thought he was serving God extremely well.
Fortunately, for Saul, Jesus called him out. And also fortunately Saul paid attention and realized the extreme errors of his ways. Then, he set aside the Hebrew version of his name and put on “the new man.” And, as the new man, he used his Roman name, Paul. It makes total sense as you rightly divide the word of truth.
Anyway…
You don’t have to take my word for it that Paul was no wimp. He described the struggles he endured just for sharing God’s grace. And instead of me telling you what they were, here are his words:
“From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.
Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness— besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?
If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me; but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands.”
Those perils Paul mentioned refer to potential sources of danger or loss or disaster. So, he went about his mission knowing danger, loss, and disaster were always possibly just around the next corner.
And these days you reach your high stress breaking point when the grocery store runs out of your favorite butter.
OK, I think I’ve established that Paul was the polar opposite of a wimp. So, here’s why I shared all that.
Because he wrote A LOT about love.
Last year I led a small-group Bible study I called “The Power of Love.” And I mentioned, repeatedly, that I wasn’t talking about the Huey Lewis version of the Power of Love. Not just some love song kind of love. But an actual force of the Spirit kind of love.
And it’s the kind of love I don’t see much of, even in churches. Sure, there’s the fist-bump, hug-hug, enjoy-some-of-our-coffee-shop-goodies kind of love. But not the kind I’ve read about in Paul’s letters. And it’s the kind of love I believe both women AND men can comfortably express. Even the men, like me, who grew up in a time when men exchanged firm, manly-man handshakes instead of those goofy handshake-hugs.
Yeah, as you can clearly see, I’m generally not a fan of men hugging men. But I’m totally FOR the manly-man love that Paul wrote about so often. And you won’t find a better example of it than in 1 Corinthians 13.
In the New King James version of the Bible, there’s an added subhead that says “The Greatest Gift.” And that gift is found in the very last word of that chapter. Even if you hate God, I dare you to find fault with Paul’s words.
So why do I try? Why do I persist?
What could I be thinking of?
I’ll tell you why; it’s the reason I exist.
I do it all for love. (from my song “All For Love”)
Before you go, share this link with everybody you know. Tell ’em to jump on the The FunderFlash AND get some music and other fun stuff, for Fa-Ree.
Stay tuned,
