Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
Ok, this is the last St. Patrick thing! I just find his life so interesting!
You may have noticed that the Bible stories you learned as a kid were the sanitized versions. The story of Noah and the Ark for example was not just cute animals on a boat and Samson wasn't just about a really strong guy. The same is true of St. Patrick. When Patrick was a slave in Ireland, his owner was not some cute, funny guy like the one portrayed in the Veggie Tales video from last week. So, after Patrick escaped and then returned to Ireland many years later, his former owner did not run to embrace Patrick or the Jesus Patrick shared. Instead...he locked himself inside his house and burned it down. He feared that Patrick had returned to get revenge and chose instead to take his own life. Not the greatest start to Patrick's mission work in Ireland, eh?
Life with Jesus is not sanitized. Sometimes the people we are trying love turn around and hurt themselves, or us. But Patrick didn't give up because it got hard. He believed that the people of Ireland needed Jesus, that their life without Him would leave them incomplete and unsatisfied and unsaved. Like Paul says, "Christ's love compels us" to be lights in the world.
But for there to be a need for light, there must be darkness. I want to join those pushing back the darkness, like Patrick did. I can only hope you might join us too.
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