The story of the letter we call Acts is a compelling account of how the known world changed. Or rather it's the beginnings of how the world changed. Of how it turned from a power hungry, might makes right, male dominated, patriarchal world, into a place where spiritual freedoms were available for all people, rich, poor, male, female, jew or gentile.
(Gentile was just a word used to describe a non Jewish person back in the day).
Before Acts, came the stories of Jesus and how He came to establish a new kingdom through the Hebrew people. A new kingdom where God Himself was in charge. As Jesus brought this good news of a life lived under His rule and reign, smart men searched the old testament writings for a deeper understanding of what this all meant.
Paul was one of these men.
Though he wasn't initially a follower of Jesus, in fact he hated the Christians and sought to imprison or even kill them, he received a great revelation of Christ's divinity. Then he used all the modern technology the roman world could offer him to spread the good news message.
Travelling on straight well built roads, writing letters and sending envoys he managed to affect the known world creating church communities all throughout the Roman empire.
This man, Paul, through the letters he wrote has left a legacy of understanding and thought that continues to this day. In fact, much of what we understand about values we hold, theology we have, and philosophy of life has come through these writings. We are swimming in a goldfish bowl of Paul's ideas, breathing in his thoughts and espousing much of it as our own creation.
Only with a deep dive into what this man has done and achieved will we be given a revelation of how he changed the world!
Comments