A Title Worth Having

By all accounts, the apostle Paul was a man of wealth, upbringing and influence during his time as a Pharisee. He had all of the intellectual knowledge of Scripture and he zealously persecuted the early church until his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 8). Yet, in spite of impressive credentials, this is how he viewed himself after coming to the saving knowledge of Christ---"Although I am less than the least of all of God's people, this grace was given to me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ (Ephesians 3:8)."

Paul writes in 1 Timothy 1:12-16 that God's love, mercy and grace was poured out on him in spite of the way he violently opposed the early church. He recognized that in spite of all of his scriptural knowledge, his unbelief caused him to be ignorant of the truth. He thanks Christ for the strength he was given to serve Him--in the same passionate way that he had earlier opposed Him. He acknowledges that he is a living example of how Jesus shows unlimited patience to those who would call on Him and receive eternal life. He boldly declares that Christ "came in to the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst (v.15)."

In a world where so many are defined by their job title, position or economic status, let us not forget that the greatest evangelist ever known gave himself the title "less than the least". Then, we can boldly declare as he did in 2 Corinthians 12:9---"Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."