Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

suggest?"crown.'sinners."many."extended."exalted'"Yes, I had thought of that, and your name 'Sonof Consolation' has softened their opinion of 'Saulthe Persecutor.' We would have to have new letterheads. But I have prayed over this matter and Ithink Jesus wants me to change name."my"What name does He"Well when I was a kid I was very proud of myname Saul for he was very tall and I thought itwould make me grow tall, and it helped me to forgetthat I was undersize, for I had a King's name. Butthe Jewish boys in Tarsus were jealous, and theytaught the Gentile boys to call me 'Paulos' (the littlefellow) and how I did hate that name ! But now I lovethat name, for it fits me the least of all the apostles, as of one born out of due time the Runt. I lovethe name now, for I am the chief of"I think I know how you feel," saidreasons?"Barnabas,"have you other"Yes, you know when I became a Christian myfather and mother had my name stricken from thefamily register. They said I was dead, and to themI was dead and still am. I have numerous relatives inour tribe called Saul, and it will relieve all these relatives of embarrassment if they are not asked whether they are relatives of mine. You know too thatKing Saul was an unregenerate man. Before he died,'the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul.' My father chose that name for me because he admired theman, but he was mistaken. I feel as though I havebeen baptized for the dead spiritually dead. Itme."doesn't inspire me. It drags me down, depressesBut I should think to be called Paulostle fellow''the litwould depress your spirit even more.Can't you think of a better name than that?""No, for I shall never forget a little fellow whoran in the races in Tarsus. The sportsmen had nicknamed him 'Shorty' (Paulos) , but how he agonized towin the races, and he did win. Somehow I alwaysthink of him when I think of Stephen. They seemedto be two of a kind. I would be inspired to wear eithername, but I am small every way, and the namePaulos fits me like David's sling. Now if I can fight agood fight, if I can run the course set before me,looking unto Jesus, the Starter and the Tape Holder,the Judge and the Crowner, if I can be the best imitator of Christ that I know how to be, I will come tothe end of my life, able to say, 'I am now ready to bepoured out as a libation; I have agonized in thegood fight, I have finished the race, and the Righteous Judge is waiting with my And maybesome day, perhaps centuries from now, some proudand happy Christian parents will name their littleboy 'Paulos' in myhonor."The SequelThat first Gospel Team (among the first anyway) did get new letter heads, not headed "Barnabasand Saul" but on Barnabas' insistence they read"Paul and Barnabas," as they should for Paul wasthe more prolific letter writer.On that daywhen Nero sent Paul to the stakehe met death so bravely, so cheerfully, so radiantly,that Nero's wife looking on admired him, and shewent home and changed her little poodle dog's nameto "Paulos," thinking it fitting because he was soAugust 31, 1955underdog."habitually "theHad Paul known about itit might have reminded him of his four-footed childhood playmate "Agag."How times have changed! Thousands and thousands of boys and men are proudly wearing the name"Paul"and trying to live up to it, and some thousands of ugly yellow curs are bearing the name"Nero" and trying to live down to it. It is one thingto be baptized for the living. It is another thing to benamed for the eternally dead.Paul has become the head of a new dynasty.When the disciples were striving about which ofthem should be the greatest, Jesus rebuked them:"Kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them ;. . but ye shall not be so, but he that is greatestamong you, let him be as the younger, and he thatis chief as he that doth serve. ... Iappoint unto youa kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto Me.""For even the Son of man came not to be ministeredunto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransomfor To paraphrase and combine separate instances we get this result : "Earthly kings,with theirinflated ego, awe their subjects by show of force.But each of you shall have a kingdom and reign withMe, and your kingdom will be just as wide as thereach of your influence and determined by the lovethat people have for you. That is the way My kingdom isPaul, the least of all the apostles,has become the greatest of them all, for he becameall things to all men that he might win some to loveJesus Christ.Yes, the writer is thinking of Paul Coleman.The Shepherd knows what pastures are best forHis sheep, and they must not question or doubt, buttrustfully follow Him. Perhaps He sees that the bestpastures for some of us are to be found in the midstof opposition or of earthly trials. If He leads youthere, you may be sure they are green for you, andyou will grow and be made strong by feeding there.Perhaps He sees that the best waters for you to walkbeside will be the raging waves of trouble and sorrow. If this should be the case, He will make themstill waters for you, and you must go and lie downbeside them, and let them have all their blessed influences upon you. L. FitzGerald. Selected.GLEANINGS from page 130"The symbol of the Nes Harim road should be the versecontained in the prophecy of Isaiah : 'And I will make all mymountains a path and my highways shall be (Isaiah49:11)."The Prime Minister praised the planners and workers on the road and noted that its completion improves boththe security situation and the transport facilities availableto the capitol.(Since the establishment of the State, 500 miles of newroads have been constructed. The more important of theseinclude the 138-mile Beersheba-Eilat road; the 56-mile Beersheba-Sidonroad; the network along the Gaza strip; the44-mile Latrun by-pass; and the 8-mile road from Mamshitto the phosphate mines in the Negev.) (ISI 8/10/55)133