Prayer To Live For The Sake of A Wonderful Promise

I’ve been reading the Bible all my life, and particularly the New Testament.  We know that the Apostle Paul was called by God to represent God and spread the good news of the Gospel while he was actively working against the Lord Jesus.  Many of us know the story of how Paul was knocked off his horse on the way to Damascus and how God spoke to him.  You can read it in Acts chapter 9 to get the details.

Many of Paul’s letters to churches – gatherings of new followers of Jesus that were established as Paul moved around the Middle East – were written and saved for us in the New Testament – what we call the Epistles.  Typically Paul will start these letters to the churches with something that identifies that it is him and then a greeting (which we’ll speak about tomorrow.)  Most of the time Paul says his name and identifies himself as : an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.  Sometimes as:  a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. 

Here and there Paul adds some other things that gave me pause to reflect on my own life and mission, and maybe it can help you do the same.  As we live each day and seek to relate to others, even during this season of the pandemic, who do we know ourselves to be and what’s the purpose of our living and relating to others?

How did Paul describe his?  The one that first caught my eye this morning was this:

An apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, for the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus.  2 Timothy 1:1

I really like that.  Paul knew who He was in terms of his activities; he knew how His work lined up with God’s plan for his life (by the will of God) and he knew such a positive reason for it all “for the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus.”

So much attention these days is on pharmaceutical companies and what they are doing in terms of treatments and vaccines that will bring life to so many in the face of the corona virus challenge.  We hear of a new vaccine being approved or as is the case in Canada these days, of a new vaccine going into clinical trial, and it gives us joy and hope for better days ahead for all of us.  We’ll long remember the names Pfizer and Moderna and even Astro Zeneca because they were first up with longed for vaccines.

For the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus – and that’s life that lasts forever – Paul is living his days – many of them in hardship and even imprisonment.  Paul knows something about God’s call on His life and God’s plan for his daily activities that fills him with purpose and meaning.  He doesn’t identify himself as a world traveller – though he certainly was, and particularly for his time.  He’s not making himself known as someone who was a cultural leader – though as a Pharisee he was that.  He’s not identifying himself as a victim – and he went through more troubles than most of us ever will.  What Paul is keeping in mind is that he is someone who is sent into this day, by the will of God, for the sake of the promise of life in Christ for people around him.

What are you and I holding in mind about who we are and what these days are meant to be in God’s view of our life and purpose?  Let’s ask Him shall we?

Loving God, we stand before You today acknowledging that You are God our creator.  We didn’t randomly enter this universe and we don’t just amble through each day of life here on earth.  You hold us in such esteem because we’re made in Your own image and You lift us up for amazingly honouorable purposes.  We thank You for another day to be able to live in Your will and for Your plan and purposes.

We admit that we are often sidetracked and spend lots of time thinking about other less important agendas but we’re asking You now to retrain our thinking so we get Your thoughts and Your desires back in the center of our focus.  We’re here today, as Saint Paul was, for the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus.  That’s life for ourselves and the wonderful good news we have both the privilege and the responsibility to share with others today.  Lord, help us to get our eyes off the chaotic news of politics and science today and put it back on You.  Help us to find ways to share the good news of Christ with those we love and are in contact with, even during these days of social distancing. 

Sometimes those we love don’t really want to hear so much about You but would You help us to find ways, through our own stories, through our prayers, through our expressions of gratitude, to give witness to the blessed hope we have in You. 

Today we will do our best to lives as those who along with Saint Paul, are sent out as messengers of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, for the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus.  Amen