Patrick’s Confession (29)

And, if I have ever succeeded in following any good for the sake of God, Whom I love, I pray Him that, with others of His converts and captives in His Name, I may shed my blood, even though I might go without burial, or my miserable corpse might be torn limb from limb by dogs or wild beasts, or the birds of the air might devour it. I know for certain that if this should happen to me I should gain my soul along with my body, because, without any doubt, on that day we will rise again in the brightness of the sun, that is in the glory of Jesus Christ our Redeemer, as children of the living God and as co-heirs of Christ, and we will be moulded to His image, and we will then reign from Him and through Him and in Him.

Translation Liam De Paor, St. Patrick’s World 

In one of his many “Resolutions” Jonathan Edwards determined to think often of his death, and to envision all the pains and rigors of dying, so that he would be prepared for it and would not flinch when the worst might come to pass. James Fennimore Cooper has his main character, Deerslayer, undergo a trial of torture at the hand of his enemies, during which, because he set his mind to die a horrible death, he, a believer, is completely calm and totally collected, to the astonishment and admiration of his tormenters.

Patrick lived toward the day of glory, and he wanted to make certain that he would not fall back from attaining that objective by the prospects of a cruel death. He not only imagined dying a martyr, he actually prayed that it might happen! By preparing himself mentally for the worst possible death, he was able to see through that death to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he could live the rest of his mortal life courageously, confidently, and without fear of flinching, come what may. He was a true convert to the Lord; but more than that, he was totally captive to Him, and truly longed to be “taken into captivity” forever (Eph. 4.8).

How does a person learn to live this way? First, by loving the Lord. Patrick both feared God and loved Him, but the fear strengthened the love, and the love motivated everything he did. He embraced the promises of God, especially the promise of “partaking” of Him (2 Pet. 1.4), and he lived every day in obedience to his calling and with a view to laying hold on the promises of God more fully. He was absolutely confident in the resurrection and thus convinced that both his soul and body would be reunited in the glory of Christ. He saw this with the eye of the heart (Eph. 1.15-23) and he kept focused on that vision throughout all his days.

Patrick again refers to Jesus as the sun, an image that subsequent generations of Celtic Christians embraced, and which appears on many carved crosses of the 9^th century and after, where Christ is fixed at the center of the cosmos, the risen Sun of glory ruling over all things.

And notice Patrick’s confidence that he would share in that rule. The prepositions are significant: “from” Christ, “through” Christ, and “in” Christ (Latin, ex, per, and in). All power and authority and rule are in Jesus Christ, but He engages us in and with that power for the furthering of His Kingdom, both now and in eternal glory. The more we dwell in Christ and fix our minds on Christ, the more we will know power from Christ to extend His Kingdom in and through our lives. In the day of glory we will be completely transformed to refract the glory of the image of Jesus Christ through our own unique personhood. From Patrick we can learn how to live toward that glory here and now.

Want to learn more about Patrick and the impact of his ministry? Order T. M.’s book, The Legacy of Patrick, from our online store.