Apostle Paul

St. Paul by Georges de La Tour c. 1615-1620 (http://www.abcgallery.com/L/latour/latour9.JPG)

In the course of human history, there have been very few lives that have been as radically transformed as that of Saul of Tarsus. Saul went from a zealous persecutor and murderer of Christians to a devoted missionary of the gospel of Jesus Christ. His name was even changed from Saul to Paul to completely wipe away the evil man that he had once been. He approached life with passion and dedication. Several hardships faced him during his lifetime, but he never waivered or faltered. These excellent character traits are why I admire him and consider him my hero.

One day, while travelling to Damascus, he was physically blinded by and chastised by God in the middle of the road for persecuting Christians. Naturally, this had a profound effect on Saul, and he realized that he had been mistaken about Christians. Blind, he then continued on to Damascus, where he was met by the prophet, Ananias. Ananias healed him, and the next day, Saul set off to spread the Word of God under the new name of Paul. He travelled all around to cities near and far and preached not only his story, but God’s story. Because of his previous life as a persecutor of Christians, his transformation was met with much skepticism. He was imprisoned by the Romans, shipwrecked, and suffered from some type of physical ailment. These hardships did not deter him, and he wrote numerous letters to spread the word of Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul is a hero to me, because he held to God even though times were tough. God did not give up on him and that reminds me that he will never give up hope on me or anyone else. Paul dared to do the dangerous thing by facing many who laughed at him and tried to kill him. Paul’s life inspires me to live for God and to move on even though times may be hard. Paul taught me that God is always there for me. Despite the fact that he went through hardships, he always put his trust in God. That is why I admire him and consider him a hero.