Evendays

The “foolishness” Paul wrote about was not always the foolishness of the cross. An even not-too-careful reading of his letters shows that he especially considered himself a “fool” when he was forced to write about his accomplishments, or when he had to refer to his suffering in order to protect his apostleship and, therefore, the integrity of the Gospel he had entrusted to the believers. Though he quickly gave credit to the One who empowered him and gave him life, he still considered it folly (or the ways of men) to speak of (even humbly) the things he had achieved for Christ, or the persecutions he had suffered in his name.

I can imagine Paul looking over Luke’s shoulder as Acts was penned, cringing as he saw his travels and works, courage and boldness, all scribbled down on that piece of parchment, not wanting to become a hero.

And I can imagine him negotiating with the doctor-turned-author that, yes, he could speak of his acts but only if he included the story of his conversion (in triplicate, please), and only if he underlined that the powerful Gospel was delivered by a chained and weak man who held on to the wisdom of Christ because Christ was firmly holding on to him.

Well, that’s what I imagine, anyway…