Paul is revered as one of the greatest men of the faith. Indeed he is, but if he were here in the flesh today, he'd probably teach us many things we'd be surprised to hear.
In this article we'll take a quick look at some of the more important lessons we can learn from his faith.
1) He considered Christ as the ultimate goal of Christianity and nothing else
Many Christians today think of Paul as the great missionary who planted churches in every territory he set his foot on.
While he did plant many churches and became a mentor and father to many faithful people, his goal was not to plant many churches and to be the greatest pastor or apostle the world has known or will ever know.
His goal was to simply become like Christ, and help others become like Him too:
"Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:1)
Paul's ultimate goal in life was to identify with Christ. He said,
"...that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 3:10-11)
2) He considered this life as nothing but a preparation for life after death
We also know that Paul thought of this earthly life as nothing compared to what awaits the faithful believer who truly follows Christ.
Thus, he thought of our earthly sufferings as nothing compared to what God has prepared for us:
"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18)
3) He considered himself dead to self but alive in Christ
Because Paul considered this life as nothing but a means to serve God and be conformed to the image of Christ, there was nothing that would attract him or distract him and make him want to love the world.
In fact, Paul considered himself as dead to his own desires and only alive for the pleasure and glory of Christ.
This is why he said these very famous words:
"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21)
What does this teach us?
Friends, Paul's very faith teaches us many things. But for this article, I want us all to see just one very important thing that he would want to pass on to all of us who are alive today:
That our lives are not our own; that if we live we live for Christ, and if we die we die for Christ.
"For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's." (Romans 14:8)
We ought to realize this, dear friends. Christ paid the high price to redeem us for Himself (see Titus 2:14). We ought to make Him our all-consuming passion and desire.
Just like Paul did.
