Acts 20:24 "But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God."
The attitude that Paul expresses in this verse of scripture as he addresses the Elders of the church at Ephesus is the attitude that in large measure made this man the spiritual giant that he was. Paul's attitude was one of self sacrifice. He did not calculate every move through the lens of what it was going to cost him personally. He did not withhold anything from God even to the point that he was willing to put his life in danger for the cause of Christ.
Wow! What an example the Apostle Paul sets for us as followers of Christ. What an important truth he teaches us in these words in Acts 20:24. Paul is essentially saying, "I am going to do what God has called me to do and I don't care what it takes, I don't care what it costs me, I am giving no thought to self." Paul understood that this type of attitude was necessary to finish the race well. Notice that he says he adopts this thinking "so that I may finish my course." Paul understood that he would not finish the race if he started thinking about the personal cost involved.
If Paul some where along the way, stopped and thought to himself, "I sure have given up a lot to follow Christ. I sure have made many sacrifices. Look at all that I have done for God and look where it has gotten me. The more I have done for God the more heart ache and trouble I seem to experience. Maybe it's not worth it. Maybe I have done enough for God and sacrificed enough for Him and maybe it's time for me to just relax and enjoy life a little bit. Think I'll go back to Jerusalem and just cool it for a while so these people will stop trying to kill me for preaching Christ."
The minute you start to think about yourself the outcome is predictable. You will be tempted to quit on God, or at least curtail what you are doing for Him.
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