Saint Paul Pt. 2- The Early Ministry

After Paul's baptism he decided to go out and begin to teach. Paul wanted very much to teach people about his experience with Jesus and what happened to him on the road into Damascus. But he did not realize just how hard his message may be to bring to the new Christian movement.

Paul decided to begin preaching in Damascus and to be among the followers of Jesus that were there. He thought that sharing his message with people who were already believers would be easy. Paul never thought about the fact that his previous line of work would effect his ministry. The believers in Christ heard him and believed that he was speaking in contradiction:
"Isn't he the man who raised havok in Jerusalem among those who call his name?"(Acts 9:21)
The believers thought of it as something of a trap. They believed Paul was trying to trick them into trusting him so that he could turn then and arrest them for believing in Jesus.

After a couple of days the followers of Paul, his friends, had to help him escape because they learned of a secret plot to kill Paul. They had to lower Paul by night in a basket from the city walls. Paul would escape and return to Jerusalem where even the apostles of Jesus were afraid of him. They believed like the others that it was nothing more than a trap. Barnabas, a disciple, informed the others of what had happened to Paul on his journey to Damascus. Of his conversion and baptism.

Paul was an eager man willing to share his new found message of the grace of Jesus with everyone. He wanted to share with the Jewish people and the followers of Jesus, of his blindness and his instructions from the lord about what he must do. Unfortunately because of his past they were all too afraid to be around him or they did not trust him to be honest. After all he had been met by Jesus when he became blind, we was baptized after he regained his sight, and now all he wanted to do was share the good news of Jesus.

My message in all of this is never let your past get the best of you. We have all sinned in one way or another. But sin is wiped clean through repentance. Sin is washed away in the baptism in the name of Jesus. Sin was ultimately wiped away when Christ died on the cross for us. An amazing act of sacrifice, that one man would die for so many others. Do not let your past sins weigh you down. Repent and give those sins to God. Sharing the message with people should never be second priority to your past. The fact that you have moved on and become a person of God is a great triumph. Go out in your new life and teach men and woman and children alike about God and about the sacrifice made on the cross. Some times even sharing your personal story of your triumph over sin will make for a more personal sharing experience.