Do you remember the last time you boasted? About your suffering?!?

In today's Bible passage from 2 Corinthians 11, Paul gives a thorough account of his dangerous death-defying adventures as an apostle of Jesus Christ. Now before we get into Paul's life, let's just take a moment to go through our life. When is the last time you boasted? I am talking about the word "boast" as in talking with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities. For example, "Minister Alex used to boast by saying “I can beat anyone, anytime, and any day on the tennis court in the first to 10 points." Well, yes at one point in my life, I thought that I could defeat anyone given enough devotion and hard work.

Now, take that one step further, when is the last time you boasted about your defeats, your suffering, your hardships, or your near-death experiences? Think about this one a little more carefully...I can't really remember ever in my whole life boasting about any of these things. I may have shared about my suffering a few times or told a youth group about my near-death experience. But never had I ever boasted about these things...normal people don't really boast about these things. Most people boast about the victories not the defeats.

Well, Paul is not your average person but he is also not superman or what he calls a "super-apostle". Paul is a normal person for all intensive purposes other than the fact that his life was completely changed by the life of a man named Jesus Christ. Paul before his name change was called Saul for he persecuted Christians all around Israel. However, one day Saul found something for more meaningful to live and die for...He found the hope of a forgiving Savior.

So Paul shares his suffering for his one true Savior with us: frequent imprisonment, severe floggings, five times whipped forty lashes minus one, three times beaten with rods, once stoned, three times shipwrecked, one time spending a full night and day in the open sea, over and over again in danger from weather, bandits, city people, country people, false brothers, and even his own countrymen. Why do I share that list with you? And why does Paul share his list of sufferings with us? I believe we can learn that we do not have to be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. This is the Gospel. This is Paul's testimony. This is the power of Jesus Christ living and moving in His disciples. Will you remember to boast in Jesus Christ the next time you suffer?