The Greatest Journey

In his article “18 inches to Heaven,” Tim Pitcher stated that doctors would say the distance between the brain and the heart is about 18 inches. People’s lives can change radically when they allow the head knowledge they have about God to travel the 18 inches to their heart and impact them for all eternity. A man named Paul had a life-altering experience like this.

Paul’s head was full of knowledge about God, and his goal was to see that everyone else’s lifestyle conformed to that of the religious establishment he served. Paul received a commission to find and persecute individuals whose thoughts and practices were not in line with his. Of particular interest were the followers of a man named Jesus, because Jesus claimed to be God Himself. Paul relished opportunities to cause the followers of Jesus to suffer and even die.

While carrying out one of his missions, Paul encountered Jesus, who asked him why he was doing the things he was doing. During a time of serious self-examination, Paul realized that his religious fervor had blinded him to God’s plan and desire for every individual to have a personal relationship with Him. He saw that the only way he could know God was by allowing Jesus to impact his heart. Paul’s life was transformed: his knowledge about God traveled those 18 inches to his heart when he recognized and accepted that Jesus was indeed the God he knew so much about in his head.

Paul spent the rest of his days telling others about his life-changing experience with Jesus and about how He can satisfy the heart and mind of every person. Paul began to liken himself to an athlete and life to a race. He spoke of disciplining his body, competing with purpose, pressing on toward the goal, and striving to win the prize in the race in which Jesus had called him to compete. The prize: a personal relationship with God that started the moment Paul’s head and heart were in sync about who Jesus is, a personal relationship that would continue even after death into all eternity.

Paul’s race took him to events in Athens, Jerusalem, Damascus, Rome and numerous small towns. Everywhere he traveled he appealed to others to join him in the journey, encouraging them to trust in the One who gives life purpose, direction and a goal with eternal value.

At various stages of his race Paul was beaten, shipwrecked, slandered, imprisoned, even bitten by poisonous snakes; but wherever he journeyed, Paul’s focus remained on pleasing the One who offered the prize of eternal life with Him.

As his life was drawing to an end, Paul was able to write to a friend, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Paul’s race began when he allowed Jesus to show him that He is God and that the knowledge Paul had in his head needed to travel those 18 inches and change his heart. The racecourse of Paul’s life was full of challenges, but there was no doubt in his mind that the prize made it all worthwhile.

Life-changing experiences like Paul’s can happen to anyone. For more information about how to enter this race, visit www.beyondtheultimate.org or contact us via our feedback form.