Is Paul's Wish Ours?

by an Old Disciple of Jesus Christ

“And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.”~ Acts 26:29

Paul speaks the above words as he stands trial before Festus and King Agrippa. He wished (it seems it turned into a form of a prayer, Rom. 10:1), that all men were such as he, the exception being his bonds and chains.

It goes without saying that he did not desire his sins, failures, shortcomings, and even his idiosyncrasies be theirs; buy rather his joy in the Lord, contentment in life, happiness of his own soul, and all that he had and found in Christ.

He did not, like so many of the younger generation of Christians today, wish to be as they were. As God told Jeremiah in chapter fifteen, verse nineteen, “…let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.”

I wonder, can we make Paul’s statement from our hearts? Like the little saying goes, “If everyone in the world were just like me, what kind of world would it be?” Would it be a better world- if they had our principles, values, and relationship to God?

It is not only "do as I say"; but also, "do as I do,"  with the latter being the most important.

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