Paul notes, in the first chapter of his letter to the Galatians, that he was set apart from birth by God. A parent knows his or her child and loves this child dearly. When I walk in to a maternity ward, I see a gathering of tiny mutants freshly spawned from their respective pods. Of course I can see that babies are cute, precious, and all that. However, I don’t have the same sense of pride that a new parent has when he looks through the glass and sees a being that he would give his life for. Though this being has only existed for a relatively short period of time, its parents love it as unconditionally as they are capable of. Paul states that through grace he is set apart for the purpose of revealing God’s son. This is a larger responsibility than that of the maternity ward nurse that labels and keeps track of a child’s identity. This is the equivalent of taking the place of a child deeply loved by its parents. God didn’t give up his son for people incapable of this task.
Our responsibility as God’s chosen people is to expose his son to a world that doesn’t know much about grace or love. God knows that we are capable of so much more than the world would have us believe. So many forces in this life call us to find purpose within them. However, Paul states that he did not consult any man. Paul didn’t attempt to discover personal enlightenment or specialized training before doing the work of revealing Christ to the world. He simply left his old life behind in order to please God. God looks at us with the prideful eyes of a father. He has set us apart personally and knows we can succeed.