Who was this man called St. Patrick?
I love reading about the faithful who have come before us and, as someone with an apostrophe in my name, this ancient monk piques my interest all the more.
Tradition says that Patrick was called by God to bring the gospel to Ireland. He was from the Roman province of Brittania but had been taken captive by the Celts. After his escape, this young man returned to Ireland to tell his captors about God. The Celts were won over slowly from their Druid paganism and, by the time he died, it is estimated that he planted two hundred churches and baptized a hundred thousand converts.
Patrick brought a love of God, a love of learning and books and a love of missions. He established Irish monasticism and modeled a life of prayer and service that became the character of the local church.
It is those monasteries that, several hundred years later, we credit with saving our Bible and much of classic literature. As Europe was being ravaged, the Celtic Christians copied and protected all the books they could find. When the Dark Ages faded away, the light of Truth emerged from Ireland. God had used this faithful and courageous community to preserve His message for future generations. And the mission-minded Celts spread the gospel to Scotland, England and mainland Europe.
As a book lover, this story makes me smile. But as a Christian, I am profoundly grateful for those who have come before - sacrificing, and even dying, to preserve God’s Word for us.
We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. Are we honoring their sacrifice by faithful study and obedience to the text? What are we willing to sacrifice to know His Word and pass it on?
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