SCRIPTURE
Galatians 2:1-3
Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek.
COMMENT
Paul was a confident and bold speaker, so these words come as a bit of a surprise to me. After 14 years of preaching, after a sudden and amazing turn around on the road to Damascus, after all of the hardships Paul had endured for the cross, did he really feel the need to make sure that he was on the right path? It appears so. And I love that about Paul.
In my adventures, I have met many who were convinced of their rightness and righteousness. So much so that they felt no need to even defend their belief. Not only that, but when Scripture was brought up, they were confident to state that such did not apply to them. But here is the Apostle Paul, still checking, still wanting to make sure that his path was the correct path. Humility, a rare quality. I think Paul deeply understood human nature, and that it applied to him just like it did to everyone else. No free pass because he was an Apostle. Fourteen years in, and he still feels the need to check his life and his doctrine. So he goes to get checked. He presents himself to, I can only assume, the leaders in Jerusalem including Peter. It goes well. They deem that even Titus, who is working closely with Paul, need not be circumcised.
That is a servant leader. One who is willing to put himself to the same tests that he would hold others to. Hard to find that today.
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