Written by Kirk Cowman
Do you have a purpose? A purpose is something that guides you in the good times, sustains you in the tough times and is the drive behind everything you do.
In Acts 22 we discover Paul’s purpose. Paul is facing mob justice after a visit to the Temple went wrong in Acts 21. The Roman guards have settled the crowd enough so that Paul is able to speak. He begins to tell his story.
Over the remaining chapters in Acts we’ll hear this story told several times. We’ve heard this story before, in Acts 9. It’s a familiar one. Sometimes when we read something we have known before, we tend to skim or skip details. As you read Paul’s story in Acts 22 and the coming chapters, don’t skim. Instead ask yourself, ”Why is the author repeating himself?” Maybe there is a new angle that the author wants us to see in Paul’s story. Maybe God wants to reveal to you something fresh in Paul’s story.
In Acts 22, there are some new details added to Paul’s story. In verses 14-16 we are told that when Ananias came to heal and baptize Paul he gave Paul a message from God. Ananias says, “The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One (Jesus) and hear him speak. For you (Paul) are to be his witness, telling everyone what you have seen and heard.”
Does that last phrase sound familiar? We’ve heard it before, back in Acts 1:8, when Jesus said to his disciples, “…And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere…”
The same purpose the disciples were given in Acts 1:8 is given to Paul when he becomes a believer. This the greater purpose all of us to share. It wasn’t just given to the disciples, but it applies to all of us. All of us were created to glorify God by being his witnesses, to help people far from God discover relationship with him, just as we have.
Yet there is something else in Paul’s story that is new. Paul tells us in verse 17 that after he was baptized he traveled to Jerusalem. One day as Paul was praying in the Temple, he heard from Jesus.
In Verse 21, Jesus gives Paul a unique purpose. He says, “Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.” This statement changed Paul’s life. Many Gentiles come to know Jesus because of Paul. You and I are followers of Jesus because of Paul’s commitment to this purpose. At the same time that Paul sees incredible success in fulfilling his purpose, he also faces incredible difficulties because of it. Paul is beaten; on multiple occasions rocks are thrown at him until he falls down unconscious, he’s imprisoned and (spoiler alert) he ends up on trial in Rome and is ultimately executed because of the unique purpose Jesus gave him. Paul knew his purpose and it guided him through the good times, sustained him in the bad times, and compelled him to fulfill God’s purpose in his life.
All of us have a general purpose. We were all created to glorify God with our words and actions and in doing so be witnesses telling everyone about him. Yet within that greater purpose there is a unique purpose that God has for you. Just as Paul had a unique purpose that was different from Peter’s and the other apostles, you have a unique purpose. Do you know your unique purpose?
As we read Paul’s story in Acts 22 we discover that Paul was uniquely equipped for the purpose Jesus gave him. Paul was born and raised in a Gentile city (Tarsus), he was highly educated, able to reason and argue, and trained in the scriptures by Gamaliel (a renowned Jewish scholar). God had a unique purpose for Paul and through his providence and circumstances in Paul’s life God equipped him to fulfill his unique purpose.
Ephesians 2:10 says, “For [you] are God’s masterpiece. He has created [you] anew in Christ Jesus, so [you] can do good things he planned for [you] long ago.” You were created with both a general purpose and a unique purpose. There’s a reason you are where you are today, why you live where you do, why you work or go to school where you do and why you are connected to the people you are connected to. There’s a purpose that you are uniquely equipped to fulfill. Do you know what it is?
Why not spend some time with God today, and ask him why he created you and placed you where you are. Ask Jesus to do what he did for Paul in the Temple, to reveal the unique purpose that he has uniquely equipped you to fulfill. Let God’s general and unique purpose for you guide you, sustain you, and compel you today.
