“My name is Patrick. I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers. I am looked down upon by many.” [i]
With those humble words, Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, begins his Confessio. Born to wealth and privilege in Britain, Patrick was kidnapped and taken to Ireland at 16 years old.
After arriving in Ireland, Patrick tended sheep every day and it was there he found God. Describing this experience, he said, “I prayed frequently during the day. More and more the love of God increased, and my sense of awe before God. Faith grew, and my spirit was moved.”[ii]
There in the fields, he saw his need. He said, “I recognised my failings. So I turned with all my heart to the Lord my God, and he looked down on my lowliness and had mercy on my youthful ignorance….He protected me and consoled me as a father does for his son.”[iii]
Overwhelmed by God’s love and mercy, he declared “I cannot be silent – nor would it be good to do so – about such great blessings and such a gift that the Lord so kindly bestowed in the land of my captivity.”
Escape to Britain
Patrick eventually escaped to his home in Britain, but he had been forever changed. Echoing the words of Paul in Philippians 1:21, he stated, “If I have any worth, it is to live my life for God…”[iv]
Christ had become Patrick’s all-in-all. He expressed his heart’s desire with these words, “Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort me and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger…”[v]
The Call
Although back with his family in Britain, Patrick thought often of the people of Ireland. He longed for them to know the joy he had found. In a vision one night, he saw a man from Ireland who gave him a letter from the Irish people, begging him to “come and walk again among us.”[vi]
Filled with gratefulness for God’s mercy, Patrick eventually returned to the Emerald Isle and spent the rest of his life sharing the Good News of God’s love with the Irish people.
Speaking of his decision to return, he said, “This is how we can repay such blessings, when our lives change and we come to know God, to praise and bear witness to his great wonders before every nation under heaven.”[vii]
What about you?
What about you, my friend? Will you answer the call? Have you tasted and seen that the Lord is good? Has He set you free from your captivity to sin? Can you say with the Apostle Paul, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain”?[viii]
If so, then keep silent no longer, for all around the lost and lonely beg for you to, “come and walk again among us.” They long for the peace that only God can provide, the joy and hope only He can give.
Today, if you are grateful for God’s blessings in your life, then repay Him by sharing those blessings with the world. Bring “praise and bear witness to his great wonders before every nation under heaven….”
As you do this, I pray you will, like Patrick, feel Christ beside you, Christ before you, Christ behind you, and Christ within you, every step along the way.
God bless and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
[i] https://confessio.ie/etexts/confessio_english#01
[ii] ibid
[iii] ibid
[iv] http://www.azquotes.com/author/11389-Saint_Patrick
[v] Ibid.
[vi] https://confessio.ie/etexts/confessio_english#01
[vii] ibid
[viii] Philippians 1:21 NKJV