Getting it.

Throughout the course of history, there have been many big picture thinkers. Men and women who saw things in the broader context. Paul was one of those individuals.

I think we can all agree that Saul (pre-Paul) was a thug...you know, trying to stop the movement of Christianity and all...

But I want us to look at his life, post conversion.

After "seeing the light", Paul began to view things through a different set of lenses. One of the things I find interesting is the world Paul came from. The Sanhedrin were all about the law...and following the letter of it. Are laws important? Yes. But if we constantly looked at the letters instead of words, they would start to fall a..p...a....r.....t.

When Paul begins to look at life in the context of his salvation, he "gets" it.

I'm not naive enough to suggest that seeing everything in the big picture eliminates the struggles we go through, or that they will be easy. On the contrary, as we look at Paul's life after his conversion, it doesn't get easier. As a matter of fact, it gets tougher. There was the whole prison and death threats thing...

• Prison: You'd best believe that chains, shackles and that whole bit would give anyone cause to reflect on their actions and whether they should continue. Paul? Pshaw.
• Death: Have a group of people hell bent on killing you? I'd be considering a career change. Paul? Whatev.

Why then, in the face of all this adversity, did Paul keep traveling, sharing, caring? Because he understood his life in the broader narrative of humanity and the gospel.

Let the challenges you face define you. Better yet, use them to tell your story.