Paul's Passion for God's People - Philippians 3:18

Paul's passion for Christ and for His people are apparent in many of his writings.

In Philippians 3:18, Paul wrote with tears as he warned the people of those who walked as "enemies of the cross of Christ." Many times Paul and other human authors of the Scriptures expressed their passion for God and for people.


This led me to ask myself this question (perhaps a good discussion question for your class to consider):

 

Can we be a good minister of the gospel, or for that matter a good Christian, if we don't have some level of anguish over lost people or those we serve?

What other Scriptures speak of "tears" or "weeping"?

• Psalmist's distress that people were not keeping God's law - Ps 119:136
• Jeremiah weeps over his people - Je 9:1, Je 13:17
• Jesus' weeps over Jerusalem - Luke 19:41
• Paul speaks to the Ephesian elders - Acts 20:19, Acts 20:31
• Paul's great desire for his people to come to know Christ - Rom 9:2
• Paul expresses his desire to not cause pain, but to show his love - 2 Cor 2:4