Patrick wrote his Confession to defend himself and his ministry against false charges that were being brought against him in Britain. The bishops there were calling him to come home and meet with them. But in his Confession, Patrick would explain the reasons why he could not. Today’s excerpt from Patrick: A Devotional History is found on pages 27 and 28:
“Patrick has just finished relating his faith and trust in God in a lengthy section laced with Scripture. His purpose is twofold.
“First, he declared the faithfulness of God, Who kept him through his time of folly and trial and blessed him abundantly during his exile and ministry. He will provide more details a bit later, but for now, he wants his readers to be clear that it was God Who brought him to Ireland—both as a slave and later as a minister of the Word. His confession of faith at this point is entirely orthodox, joyful in the sovereignty of God, and focused on Christ as Redeemer, Savior, and Lord, Whose heavenly Father awarded Him all power in earth and heaven.
“For everything to Jesus has been given,
that every knee should bow and every tongue
confess, of things on earth and things among
the dead and in the heavens, that He is Lord
and God, and they should all obey His Word.
“Second, Patrick offers a summary of his ministry—his burden and legacy. He had been intending “for quite some time” to put this in writing, but only now, with pressure from the clergy in Britain, was he able to do so. He hesitated to this point because he did not want to appear, by his writing, to be an uneducated man. He did not write Latin all that well, since Irish, he explained, was his ‘native tongue.’ So he put off the task until he seemed to have no choice. He declared that, going forward, he would do the best he could to put his Confession into acceptable language, trusting God to make his burden clear.
“For even rustic backwardness has been created by the One Who made all men.”
For reflection or discussion
1. Should a lack of training or formal education prevent us from serving the Lord? Explain.
2.If you were to offer a “summary” of your ministry at present, what would you say?
We’re all called to do works of ministry that build up our local church in unity and maturity. We need training for such ministry, of course. But even where training is lacking, we can learn from God’s Word, as Patrick did, how to love our neighbors as ourselves. Share today’s podcast with a friend, then get together to talk about your ministries. Your copy of our 30-day devotional, Patrick: A Devotional History is waiting for you at The Ailbe Bookstore.
T. M. Moore
