We received a letter today from friends who just drove from California to Alaska. Their letter was filled with tales of wild animals. They saw moose, caribou, stone sheep, bison, porcupines, eagles and a lynx. They had a grand time and reading about it was almost as good as being there. Please note I said, “almost.” Nothing beats reality. I like getting letters. Maybe that is why I enjoy reading Paul’s writings. They are letters written to his friends. Often he begins with greetings and he usually finishes with, “Be sure to tell…I said, ‘Hi.’” See the last chapter of Romans. He sent quite a list of greetings.
One of his letters is even filled with tales of daring do. Please see II Corinthians 11. His list of exploits is most adventurous and downright frightening. He wrote, “. . . five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. . .”
It is rare that one reads such adventures happening to an intellectual, but that is what Paul was. He grasped the complexities of the Jewish law and culture. He understood the philosophies of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle and best of all he knew Jesus. I rejoice in having letters from such an amazing man.
Written by Roger Bothwell on May 26, 2009
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
rogerbothwell.org