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What Draws Men?
Life Thoughts
Written by Tom Zurowski   
Tuesday, 01 January 2008 00:00

“But Saul met Christ and heard His voice. Then when the fire eating Pharisee, whose stormy soul was corroding with the acid of religious bitterness, was met by Deity, Saul was turned from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God."

That day the history of man took a new turn. One can summarize Paul’s spiritual transaction in this way:

1. It was an exchange of life – “Not I, but Christ.”
2. It was an expensive life – “Suffered the loss of all things.”
3. It was an exciting life – “Fought with wild beasts.”
4. It was an explicit life – “This one thing I do.”
5. It was an exemplary life – “What things you have seen and heard in me, do.”

"Paul had found rest – and yet he became the most restless man who ever lived. He had found joy – and yet he was in continual heaviness and sorrow of heart for the lost. He had found peace - but he waged an unending war against all the powers of darkness.”
(Leonard Ravenhill, from his book “Meat For Men”)

At first glance, one would not necessarily think that the life of Paul was all that attractive, yet deep in our hearts we know that he set an example for all of us to follow. Nowhere do we read that people ran up to Paul and said, “Gee, that smile on your face and all your laughter just make me want to follow Christ!” Some may have the idea that Paul and other early disciples were super Christians who were not affected by pain, suffering, or calamity. Paul was not any different than you and me. He was a normal guy with challenges. The only thing that may make Paul different than us is that he chose total obedience to Christ. He made a decision to follow Christ either by life or by death (Phil. 1:20) Paul’s life could possibly be summed up in four words “to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). I don’t believe people were attracted to Paul because he walked around with a big smile on his face or that he gleefully skipped from town to town, or that he was giddy on the day of his execution. I believe that which attracted people to Paul and to so many other Christians throughout the ages is what attracts people today. They were real. Paul, like us had problems, emotions, and disappointments. Paul was not extreme; he lived the normal Christian life. He surrendered his entire life to the will of God; men saw it and marveled. What do people see when they see us? In a world of plastic people and counterfeit Christianity, may we, like Paul, live as Christ. God never asked us to be super spiritual, He simply asked us to be real people who love the Lord their God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves in the midst of a dying world. May we live the kind of lives that draw men to God.
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