For the last several weeks I have been in Galatians and Romans. I’ve been considering the life of the apostle Paul. Two primary components have surfaced for me and have been filling my quiet spaces with questions and conviction. Paul not only had a reputation, but he seemed to have a platform in every city. This platform seemed to be a result of his teaching as well as his redeemed demeanor. Every single day that Paul lived, after coming face to face with Jesus, was approached with expectation and urgency. Paul did not have a transactional experience with Jesus on the road to Damascus, he had a transformation that utterly and completely altered the trajectory of his life. Lives that are changed by transaction look more like moral reformation. Paul’s life was absolutely transformed by the love of Jesus Christ. A life that is transformed transcends our own ability to reform our behavior. Our lives transformed by the love of Jesus results in a response that alters our behavior. Paul was so keenly aware that his redemption had absolutely nothing to do with his abilities, and his life’s pursuit to be righteous. Jesus paid the debt not even Paul could pay, and the response was a captivated heart with the beauty of his savior. Paul also had significant clarity around “his sermon”. An old friend of mine wants told me that pastors sometimes take a bit to “find their sermon”. That one quintessential conviction that finds its way into every sermon they preach. For Paul, it was an amazing clarity around the gospel and the urgency to abstain, absolve and flea from false gospels. Paul was a dog with a bone regarding the gospel and how he traveled from location to location and nothing else in his life mattered much outside the gospel and the proclamation of the gospel every chance he got. The platforms that Paul had were ordained and prepared by the Holy Spirit. The gospel of Jesus Christ is what was amplified and proclaimed by Paul. I am compelled and filled with affection for the gospel, and the older I get it is quickly becoming the single thing in my life that addresses every aspect of a life long sanctification process.