Ezra Sargunam, India
“I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race
and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—
the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”
Acts 20:24
The volumes Paul churned out during his lifetime are worthy of universal praise and preservation. In his middle age, he declared that he counted as loss everything he erstwhile considered as gain for the sake of Christ. He went on to say that he deemed everything trash to gain Christ and to proclaim His Gospel.
Paul never considered himself accomplished or said that he had attained the goal. Instead, he said that he was moving ahead in his journey of faith to take possession of that for which Jesus Christ took possession of him. He refrained from making tall claims that he had attained this or completed this task, but modestly said that he was doing only one thing: “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,” moving toward the goal of winning the prize for which God had called him heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12–14).
We all need the zeal exhibited by the Apostle Paul. His zeal stemmed from the love he had for Christ and His Gospel, which drove him to preach the Good News and plant churches, oblivious to his surroundings and in whatever state or stage he was in life. A man who vowed to destroy Christians and the church, after the Damascus visitation, rued that he would be doomed if he ceased to preach the Gospel! Each of us needs that kind of nerve.
Paul didn’t consider his life dearer than his ministry. He said that his life was worth nothing to him, and his only objective was to reach the finish line, completing the task of preaching the Gospel assigned to him by Jesus Christ. He taught by example, standing by those who were weak and helping them by working hard without forgetting the words of Jesus Christ: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Paul further declared that he had never “coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing” (Acts 20:33), which is something that those involved in the Lord’s ministry today would do well to remember.
The early missionaries and church leaders were extremely passionate about winning people for Christ. The sixteenth-century Scottish theologian and missionary John Knox remarked, “Give me Scotland or I die!” American missionary John Hyde declared, “Give me souls, oh God, or I die!” And the Canadian missionary A.B. Simpson said, “The Christian is not obedient unless he is doing all in his power to send the Gospel to the heathen world.”
“Here am I, send me; send me to the ends of the earth; send me to the rough, the savage pagans of the wilderness; send me from all that is called comfort on earth; send me even to death itself, if it be but in Thy service, and to promote Thy kingdom,” said the eighteenth-century American missionary David Brainerd.
Woefully, people with a true burden for perishing souls like Paul and these missionaries are few and far between today. God wants us to get down to business. He calls us to action. We need to work toward this goal with a passion.