Many years ago, the poem “Footprints in the Sand” became quite popular. Most of you probably remember it or even had it framed and hanging on a wall in your home. The poem tells the story of a man who has a dream that at the end of his days, the Lord shows him various scenes from his life. Along with each scene, he sees images of footprints in sand. For most of his life, he sees two sets of footprints, himself and the Lord walking side by side. But during the difficult and painful times of his life, he sees only one set of footprints. After the scenes have played out, he asks God why he was abandoned and left to walk alone during those hard times. The Lord replies that those single sets of footprints are His and that He did not leave him alone during those times, but rather carried him through them.
Many people have found comfort in the thought that God carries them through their hard times. He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us, and He never has and never will. In the midst of overwhelming heartache and struggle, when you feel abandoned and alone, you can be confident that the Lord keeps His word and will never leave you. Not only does He not leave you, but He picks you up and carries you. The Lord Himself spoke about the times He carries His people. He says to the prophet Isaiah in chapter 46:3-4, “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.”
The truth He reveals to Isaiah is that there have never been two sets of footprints in the sand. His people have never walked under their own power or even stood on their own two feet. He has them in His arms even before they are born. They come out from their mother’s womb already in His hands and He carries them from birth into their old age. Yes, even to their gray hairs and beyond! The gods of this world are burdens to be carried by those who make and worship them, but not our God! Ours is a God who carries us. “From of old,” proclaims Isaiah, “no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.” Take heart child of God! The Lord who made you will hold you up. The Lord who carries you will deliver you!
Free From Religion
The first word in the letter Paul wrote to the Galatians is “Paul.” Up to Acts 13:9, The Apostle was called by his Jewish name, Saul. It made him acceptable to his Jewish audiences. When he joined Barnabas and John Mark on the first missionary journey to Galatia, his role changed radically. To begin with the journey was led by Barnabbas who brought his cousin, John Mark, along. Both Barnabbas and John Mark were solid Jewish believers. I would argue that their intention was to go to the Jews only, but while on the Island of Cyprus a “Jewish” false prophet attempted to prevent the governor, Sergius Paulus, a Roman Official, from accepting the faith. It was then that Paul stepped up and cursed the false “Jewish” prophet with blindness. Sergius Paulus became the first gentile convert under the Apostle Paul’s ministry. It is interesting that after Acts 13:9, Saul becomes Paul from that point on. Some early church fathers think that Saul took his gentile name at that time to honor his first convert who had the same name. But I see it as part of God’s plan to move Paul from a Jewish focus to a gentile focus.
Being of the tribe of Benjamin (As we read in Philippians), I’m fairly certain that his parents named Saul after the first King of Israel. Saul, the King, was head and shoulders taller than most of the men in Israel at that time and it made him stand out. It is interesting that “Paul” means “small” or “little.” Maybe that was an intentional change for this proud Pharisee who was humbled and knocked to his knees and blinded by the Lord. Paul’s blindness led to his salvation, but not so with the “Jewish” false prophet. Instead it led to the salvation of Paul’s first gentile convert. The Jews who insisted on forcing the Law into the salvation equation were as furious with Paul’s message as the Religious leaders were of Jesus who put Himself above the Law. Religious people hated Jesus. Religious people hated Paul. Religious people are violently opposed to a salvation message that is freely offered to irreligious people.
The second thing worth noting in Galatians 1:1is that Paul calls himself an “Apostle – not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead.” Paul’s apostleship to the gentiles came directly from God. As Rushdoony observes, “Paul is emphatic because there was a major effort to belittle his calling, his teaching, and his person.”[1] This attack on Paul came from the Judaizers who insisted on connecting obedience to the law with salvation by grace through faith. Paul preached a Gospel that put the person and work of Christ at the center. It forced each person to see their sinfulness and their need for a savior. It took God’s divine intervention in this hyper-religious Pharisee’s life to get his attention. It takes divine intervention today as well for religious people to get the truth of the Gospel. Jesus did not come to set up another religion but to destroy all religion. It always takes divine intervention to set a person free from the law of sin and death.
[1] Rousas John Rushdoony, Romans & Galatians (Vallecito, CA: Ross House Books, 1997), 315.