The Lord Jesus called Saul of Tarsus out of darkness to light. After a time of training in God’s school, He entrusted him with the special task of proclaiming His message of salvation to Jews and Gentiles. He became God’s spokesperson, sent to many places and countries, serving his new Master with great devotion and amazing results. Saul did not volunteer for this task. On the contrary, he had not been willing at all, but had persecuted the believers (Acts 9:1–3). In God’s time, however, the Lord Jesus called Saul and gave him the all-important mission of being His apostle to the nations. The above verse shows that God prepared His chosen vessel for that special task, which implied further testing and training (cf. Gal. 1:11–24). Back in Jerusalem, he met Peter, John, and James, the Lord’s half-brother. They accepted what God had entrusted to Paul and expressed their fellowship with his calling and supported him. However, a severe test occurred when Peter visited Antioch and his behavior challenged Paul’s ministry among the Gentiles. Paul was not seeking to please man at all, so he had to publicly rebuke Peter: “I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned” (Gal. 2:11–21). God allowed this test to show that Paul did not seek man’s approval.

In our lives, God puts us to the test, which is needed to make sure that we please Him. The society we live in promotes self-seeking and self-pleasing. In God’s school, however, we learn to apply His standards in view of pleasing Him. “The matter of the heart is the heart of the matter”—something Saul had to learn before God could use him for His service. What about us today?