When St. Paul was imprisoned in Rome for the last time, and waiting for his execution, he wrote his second letter to his much loved friend and companion Timothy. In the letter Paul explained that he was not ashamed to be in prison, for the simple reason that, “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” ( 2 Timothy1:12) It seems like a simple sentence, but for me it contains the heart of the Gospel message. In it is the certainty of a close, real and vital relationship with the living God, as well as an acquaintance with God’s character of faithfulness to Paul. Here is an expression of faith that is born out of experience with the Spirit of God in Christ. Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus had taken root in Paul, and was the beginning of a ministry to Jews and Gentiles alike that has lasted for more than two thousand years.

In Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul wrote of a Christian’s expectations in regard to the second coming of Christ: “For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven. . . After that we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” (1Thessalonians4:17) I thought that Paul couldn’t be trusted to give a real message about Jesus, since Paul seemed to base his faith on the belief that Jesus’ return to earth was imminent. It’s one thing to believe in someone who will remove death from your future, and another thing altogether to believe in someone who died an excruciating death himself, and will allow you to die as well.

Paul’s second letter to Timothy, though, was written in the full knowledge of Paul’s own mortality. He expresses a fulfillment without the slightest regret: “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. . . .”

(2 Timothy 4: 6-7) When I read these words, I knew that Paul was a new creation in himself. It mattered not at all to him that he was about to die. It did not in any way diminish his faith in Christ or his Father God. To me, Paul’s unequivocal embrace of his own death validates and shines on every part of his preaching and teaching. I believe that Paul did indeed know and trust whom he believed, and that his message will in fact endure until the end of time.

Love in Him,

Prue