“For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed” – Romans 15:18
The Apostle Paul certainly had an impressive resume. He could have talked extensively about himself, his credentials, and his accomplishments. The number of cities opened to the gospel. The number of converts made. The number of churches planted. The number of letters written. He could have been the most celebrated conference speaker of his day or the most boring and obnoxious person at any party. Thankfully, that wasn’t the example he set for us to imitate…
Paul only talked about those kinds of things when absolutely forced into it. Under normal circumstances, he wore humility like a cloak, as every follower of Jesus should. He pointed all the attention and glory to God. He emphasized that it was Christ and His Spirit Who accomplished all those great things through Paul. Paul was certainly a willing and submitted disciple, but the enormous fruit of his ministry was produced by Jesus living in Him.
Churches weren’t started because Paul was a talented and courageous guy. They were started because Paul abided in Christ and Christ abided in Him (see John 15). A skilled man didn’t turn the world upside down. Jesus did. That should be a great encouragement to you because Jesus still does…
Every follower of Jesus needs to embrace this reality. Jesus will accomplish everything of lasting significance we do as Christians. When we live by this truth, we get out of His way so He can produce lasting Kingdom fruit. When we still think it’s all (or at least mostly) about us, what we produce is frustrating, exhausting, and doomed to spiritual failure. We must stop trying to manufacture fruit and let Jesus grow the fruit instead. We need to acknowledge that is how Christ’s kingdom works. It isn’t about little old us. It’s about the glorious Son of God working in, and through, us. That’s a far more interesting story anyway! #FollowJesus