Testimony

As Churches attendees, we are often asked to share our testimony in a service or prayer meeting, and here in Galatians 1, we find the apostle Paul sharing his. When reading this section, the interpretation is often; a testimony of how Paul became a follower of Jesus. We say that because when we begin our testimony story, it may start similar, too; “When I became a follower of Christ, I was 10 years old and knew then I needed Jesus.” Friends, I would like to challenge that rhetoric. Rather than saying, “When I became a follower,” what if the phrase was changed to “Let me share with you how Jesus made me His follower when I was 10 years old!”

It may be just changing words or rearranging a sentence, but how true is that statement. When you very clearly became aware of your dependency on Christ, it was because you understood that Jesus was moving you from a creation of His to a child and follower of Him.

This testimony recorded in Galatians comes from Paul having to both defend and prove himself as an apostle of Christ. First, Paul challenges the thought that he came to his gospel message through his own reflection. He recalls that, until his conversion, he was “intensely” hostile to the church and to Christianity (v 13). He wanted to “destroy it.” Next, Paul stands up to the claim that his message was shared with him by those Christian leaders in Jerusalem and other areas. “I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was” (v 16-17). Finally, Paul shows that his God-given, bright light in the middle of the road, the gospel, “checked out” with the message the other apostles had received from God. There was Peter (v 18), James (v 19), and the churches of Judea (v 22) were among those listed in this section that “praised God” (v 24) for what Christ had done for Paul and for the message that He had trusted with Paul.

The old Paul, Saul, was very much like you and I., spiritually blind (2 Cor. 3:12–18) and did not understand what the Old Testament really taught about the Messiah. Like many today and those of his day, Paul struggled over the Cross (1 Cor. 1:23). Paul depended on his own understanding and righteousness, not on the righteousness of God.

What is your testimony? How often do you share the moment that Jesus made you His follower?