Paul, a Bond Servant
Posted by Drew Coffman | | Posted On Wednesday, December 3, 2008 at 8:42 AM
- Rembrandt
I love Paul. There is something about his character that I absolutely admire. This picture of him, drawn by Rembrandt who identified with and respected Paul, best represents his life for me. Here he is, towards the end of his life. Old. Wise.
In jail.
His surroundings are sparse, with a table for writing and the guards sword behind his head - likely the one which will later behead him. However, his eyes aren't on that. They're downcast, not in depression but meditation, with a pen in his hand and volumes written and left to write.
Paul never gave up. He was a servant - a slave to God. He gave his life for Him, not only in death but in every day he was alive. Spreading the message mattered most. Teaching and counseling those who had received it did as well. With those ideals in mind, he lived his life to the fullest, and left an unforgettable body of work behind.
I just wrote a long comment to you on how i liked this picture and what you said alot but it didn't make much sense...So i'll just say it plainly- I really like this picture and i really like what you said about it. You really make me look deeper into old art things like this. Its awesome.
I think that the character of Paul is so interesting, as well.
Some verses that I think are cool dealing with Paul are Acts 16:17-18.
This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation." And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And he came out that very hour.
She was probably doing so mockingly, and why Paul hesitated to deliver her is unknown. But I like the real humanity given to him there. I would've gotten annoyed too. Yep. Paul is awesome.
I believe that our faith is defined by "messy." Here, you've written about Paul. He was a king of the messy faith too. He killed people for believing in Jesus. I think that when Paul says in Philippians 3 that he was forgetting what lay behind and pressing toward what is ahead, that that meant a lot more than we give him credit for. I can't imagine the sense of guilt that Paul must have felt for what he did before he became a Christian.
Talk about messy.
Here's to embracing this messy, up is down, backwards is forwards faith that we call Christianity. Good luck as we journey together.
In jail? Servant? Slave? Suffering? Death?
Our politicians and churches generally promise solutions to life's problems without sacrifice. What would Paul say?
Thanks for sharing this great painting and excellent post.
I enjoyed Chuck's comment, "What Would Paul Say?" Now that's a bumper sticker I'd be tempted to put on my Jeep...Any way, the painting speaks volumes.