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As if measuring up is not enough, we add labels to it. The other day my daughter came home from
school with a question for her brother:
Are you a jock? Or
popular? Or geek? Or nerd?
My son proceeded to answer the question by saying,
I know for sure that I am not… which
left his selection of labels very limited and not extremely flattering.
The labels continue to follow us all the way into adulthood, describe us, even define
us.
The apostle Paul had an exhaustive array of impressive labels:
…a legitimate birth,…
…circumcised on the eighth day…
… an Israelite from the elite tribe of Benjamin…
…a strict and devout adherent to God’s law…
…a fiery defender of the purity of my religion, even to the
point of persecuting the church…
…a meticulous observer of everything set down in God’s law
Book. Philippians 3:5-6
What a pedigree! Born in the right family with no skeletons
in the closet; studied at prestigious schools;
got his masters and PhD, climbing up the ladder of success…
Paul had everything
going for him. His heritage, his life
opportunities, his education, his career… As far as measuring up, he met and exceeded
all expectations. One might call him an…
overachiever, perhaps?
But… there comes a but in Paul’s trajectory.
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