PAUL'S ADVENTURES — EPISODE 7: PAUL'S FAREWELL
Based on Acts 20:17-38
Series: Paul's Adventures | Episode 7 of 10
Target audience: Kids ages 7-15
This one is going to hit you right in the heart. I'm warning you now.
Paul was on his way to Jerusalem. He knew what was waiting for him there — prison, chains, hardship. The Holy Spirit had been telling him at every stop along the way: "Paul, suffering is coming." And Paul didn't flinch. Not once.
But before he got to Jerusalem, he made one important stop. He sent a message to the elders of the church in Ephesus — the leaders he had poured into for three years — and asked them to meet him at a place called Miletus.
When they arrived, Paul looked at these men — men he had taught, prayed with, laughed with, cried with — and he laid it all out.
"You know how I lived among you," he said. "From the very first day I set foot in Asia, I served the Lord with humility and with tears. I faced plots and persecution, and I never held back anything that would be helpful to you. I taught you publicly and from house to house."
Then came the words that shook them.
"And now, I'm headed to Jerusalem. I don't know exactly what will happen to me there — except that the Holy Spirit warns me in every city that prison and hardships are ahead."
He paused. And then he said something I want you to carry with you for the rest of your life:
"I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus gave me — testifying to the good news of God's grace."
Think about that. My life is worth nothing to me — if I can just finish what God gave me to do.
Then he told them the hardest part: "You will never see my face again."
The whole group broke down. Grown men weeping. They threw their arms around Paul. They kissed him. They walked him all the way to the ship, not wanting to let go. The thing that grieved them most was those words — "You will never see my face again."
Here's what I need you to understand. Paul didn't chase comfort. He didn't chase safety. He chased the mission. Finishing what my Father gave him to do mattered more than anything — even his own life.
You've been given a race to run too. It won't always be easy. But finishing matters more than being comfortable. Keep running.
