. . . in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.
(2 Corinthians 11:23-28)
What an outline for a novel or a movie. How was it that the Apostle Paul managed to stir up and bring on himself so much trouble? Basically, it was because he was doing something. He could have gotten a job as the curator of ancient manuscripts at the University of Tarsus, he could have been a popular blogger on the Parchment-sphere Network, or found a nice quiet synagogue and taught people. The Apostle, though, was driven to do something. In Philippians 3 Paul says he had been apprehended by God, and he had not yet apprehended the reason he had been apprehended. It's not an exaggeration to say he was driven. Some accused him of madness--an accusation that was also leveled at Jesus--Paul replied that he was controlled by love, the love of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:13-14). The good life isn't a life of leisure. The good life is a life worth living, and a life worth living will have its measure of trouble.STTA
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