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| Pleasant Pages by Frederick Daniel Hardy |
It's clear that Paul has great sorrow and concern for his fellow Israelites who are as yet unbelievers. What isn't clear to me is why he would choose to be separated from Christ for the sake of their salvation. I struggle with reconciling this with verses such as Mark 12:30, "Thou shalt love the Lord Thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment." To exchange loving God for loving people doesn't seem to me to be loving Him above all. The Psalmist declares, "Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever (Psalm 73:25-26).
Perhaps it is Paul's weight of burden that causes him to give such a broad brushstroke. I think, perhaps, that it's possible that Paul's statement may not be intended as our example, that we are sometimes unwarranted in our striving to emulate biblical characters. I am reminded that God calls us to be conformed to the image of Christ, not to the image of Paul. "For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son" (Romans 8:29). Perhaps the paradox is in the phrase "I could wish."
It is clear, however, that Paul's love for his countrymen was compelled by the love of Christ. This is a passage to ponder and study for many days to come.
