do you want to be big or little {Glorious Grace}

My daughter makes me laugh. She’s so passionate about stuff. Not sure where she gets that. For example, if she likes how something plays out, she declares with gusto and with the veins in her neck popping out from the intensity of her volume, “I am going to do this everyday for the rest of my life!” Then tomorrow comes and, well, she forgets. But the passion! It’s really sweet.

So I am not going to say, “Every Friday for the next 13 weeks I am going to write about what I learned from the Glorious Grace study! Every Friday!” Because inevitably one of my kids will get some Fall germ that slowly spreads to another kid and then another until three Fridays are shot. So I am just going to say, “Today I want to tell you something I learned from the Glorious Grace study this week.” Today.

This week was an intro to the book of Ephesians. Here’s where I really hope you don’t check out since I said the name of a book of the Bible. This is good stuff. In the intro week we basically just got a snapshot of Paul, the one who wrote the book. And though I’m tempted to start a little preachin’ about God’s amazing grace (seriously, everything is grace!), I really just want to tell you one thing that inspires me about Paul.

You see Paul wasn’t called Paul before he started following Jesus. His name was Saul, as in king Saul from Israel’s past. He had everything “goin’ on” from a human perspective. He had a kingly name. He could recite a bunch of laws. He was respected with the high-roller, legalistic, religious elite. He even killed people who proclaimed this “false prophet” Jesus. Killed them. Until he came face-to-face with Jesus himself. And that’s when everything changed. Even his name.

 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17

 

A few chapters into Acts it says, “And Saul who was also called Paul…” (Acts 13:9) That may not look like much to you on the outset, but this is so huge. So precious. So reflective of what was going on in his spirit.

You see the name Paul actually means “small.” So this big, manly, conceited, power-hungry Saul met Jesus and from then on out he changed his name to Paul. Small.

Why does it matter? It shows a humility that is so beautiful in the sight of our God. It shows a man who now sees himself in the light of God’s glory and all he can do is bow low in praise. In honor. In humility. Even to the point that he no longer wants people to refer to him as the proud king Saul. He wants people to call him Paul. Small. Little. He wants people to see God as the really huge One — the One deserving all glory.

That inspires me. In a world that teaches us to strive for accolades and feast on position, Paul’s humility brings a pause to my spirit. It makes me ask myself, what do I want people to call me?

 
Fill me, Lord…

How have you wrestled with the tension to be named something great in our world’s eyes vs. walking “small” before a really big God?

 

I am linking up with other Glorious Grace people over at the HelloMornings blog today. Click here to read what others learned this week.

And if you want to join us, it isn’t too late. You can click here to get your own copy of Glorious Grace. It’s available in print and as an ecopy.