Today's a great day to remember that St. Patrick was actually Scottish! (If you're looking for an interesting read, How the Scots Invented the Modern World is a good one) St. Patrick was captured as a slave and toiled in Ireland before escaping to Scotland, where he made the decision to go BACK to Ireland and proclaim the Gospel. It reminds me a little of Acts 14 when Paul was stoned outside the city and then got up and went back in. Some people are so certain of God's call on their lives that they're willing to face certain death to proclaim the Good News. In doing so, they fulfill the words of Jesus -- that the Gospel will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations. Jesus doesn't promise his followers that their lives of discipleship will be easy or pain free -- what he promises them instead is that the Word of God will endure, and those who dedicate their lives to Christ will find themselves in the glory of eternity. That vision draws us forward, and it makes people willing to endure suffering in this life because they are compelled by a vision of eternity. Why else go back to the place that enslaved you? Because you are so caught up in a vision of the Kingdom that you want to be a part of it, and you want others to be a part of it, too. You have to let God convert your heart into something that has a love for others.
It's not easy to follow Christ wherever God may lead. And yet the glory of God is so beautiful -- what else is worth investing our lives in?
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