Modern celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day typically include drunkenness and wearing green outfits. Leprechauns, pots of gold, and other elements of legend are also heavily used as decorations on March 17.
The original holiday, though, commemorates the life of St. Patrick (circa AD 387-461), who spread the gospel throughout Ireland.
The secular world will probably continue to ignore this faithful follower of Christ and his missionary work, but believers can remember St. Patrick and learn from His life.
1. We Can Choose Grace Instead of Bitterness
As a teenager, around the age of sixteen, Patrick was taken by Irish pirates from his home in Roman Britain and enslaved in Ireland. He remained in slavery for six years before he escaped and returned home.
During the years he lived in forced servitude, Patrick placed his trust in Jesus. His faith gave him hope amid his enslavement and mistreatment, especially when he spent his days alone tending his master’s sheep.
When he was older, after having escaped his captivity, he felt convicted by the spiritual darkness of Ireland, where paganism ruled. In a dream, he heard the Irish people calling for him, begging him to return. Because of this vision, he received ministry training and returned to Ireland as a missionary.
From a worldly perspective Patrick’s choice to return to Ireland is strange, given he was enslaved by the Irish people. Why would he return to the place of his captivity?
However, from a biblical viewpoint, his choice to take the gospel to the Irish is reflective of Christ’s love. Patrick chose to extend grace and forgiveness instead of bitterness to his former captors.
Like Patrick, we are also called to a grace-filled life. More than anyone else, believers are in a unique position to freely forgive others because we have been forgiven.
The Apostle Paul emphasizes the need to show grace when he wrote, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).
Unforgiveness is not a characteristic of a Christian. Jesus died for our sins, showing us love even while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8).
As C. S. Lewis is noted with saying, “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” Because of Jesus’ loving sacrifice, we can extend forgiveness to others, even to those who have hurt us in the past.
2. God Can Use Painful Situations for His Good
Patrick could have given up in despair when he was enslaved as a teenager. He was alone and forced to work for people who had abducted him from his home. However, Patrick placed faith in Christ and grew despite adversity.
He was exposed to the Irish culture and language, which prepared him for the ministry work God had planned for his life.
Also, the Lord was able to use Patrick’s experience as a herdsman to equip him for the role of “shepherd” over the new believers in Ireland. The painful season of slavery in Patrick’s life was not wasted.
Scripture tells us that “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
When we go through difficult times, we can remember that God is still working in the situation even if we don’t see or understand what He is doing.
The Lord can work in any situation for His purposes. Not only can times of hardship lead people to acknowledge they need Jesus, just as Patrick did, but suffering is also used by the Lord to strengthen and refine our faith (James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:7).
God might use a challenging event in our life to prepare us for a future task of service. If we don’t go through such difficulties, we will never be able to grow or learn to depend on God alone for strength.
David was able to face Goliath in the name of the Lord because he had seen God’s faithfulness in enabling him to protect his sheep from a lion and a bear (1 Samuel 17:36-37).
Similarly, the Lord used Joseph’s training as an overseer in Potiphar’s household and prison to prepare him for his job as overseer of Pharoah’s grain in Egypt (Genesis 41:39-40).
The life of St. Patrick reminds us of the biblical truth that God can use painful situations for His good (Genesis 50:20). Nothing we experience in our life is wasted since the Lord can redemptively use events and seasons of suffering for His glory and purpose.
3. People Need to Hear the Gospel
In his vision, Patrick heard the Irish people pleading for him to come and live among them. He knew of their spiritual state because he had lived among them for six years during his captivity. Ireland was an unreached country that needed the light of Christ to shine through the darkness of paganism.
Although Patrick was from a wealthy family and lived comfortably, he chose to become a missionary to Ireland. He took risks to evangelize to the Irish Druids, who practiced idolatry and divination.
Such a life was not easy, but Patrick followed God’s call to take the gospel to those who needed it desperately. He obeyed Jesus’ command to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19).
People today might not have a specific vision or what some Christians refer to as a “call,” but all believers are commanded to tell the good news and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). No other Person can save except for Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12).
He is the only way to salvation (John 14:6). Just as the Celtic Druids needed the life-changing message of Jesus’ death and resurrection to free them from spiritual slavery, there are billions of people living in spiritual darkness today.
Patrick’s missionary work among the lost in Ireland reminds believers of the need to emphasize missions. We can focus on missions by sending out believers to unreached places and by seeking out opportunities to connect with unreached people groups who live around us.
The need for lost people to hear the gospel is too great to ignore. From our neighborhoods to the far reaches of the world, we need to proclaim the good news of Jesus and make disciples so others can learn about the love of Christ.
4. Rely on Jesus
When Patrick was a slave, he recounted in his Confessions that he prayed to God 100 times a day. He conversed with the Lord regularly as he worked in the fields, herding his master’s livestock. His dependence on Christ, which was forged in the fiery trial of slavery, continued throughout his life.
When he began his missionary work, Patrick felt unqualified, even with his years of training. Martyrdom and persecution were also a common concern as he took the gospel to Ireland’s chieftains and ordinary folk. He had to rely on his faith in Christ during the years he served the Irish people.
Patrick’s dependence on Jesus is demonstrated in his prayer, popularly known as the “Breastplate Prayer.” In one part of this prayer, he says:
“Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise.”
Just as Patrick learned, believers need to remember that Christ is enough. We have all we need when we know Jesus (2 Peter 1:3). Nothing can compare to being in a relationship with the Lord and Savior of the world (Philippians 3:8).
Dependence on someone other than ourselves is looked down upon in the modern world, but God exalts those who humble themselves (Matthew 23:12).
Instead of trusting in our strength when we serve God, we can choose to trust in Him (Proverbs 3:5). He is glorified in our weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:9). When we recognize our need to rely on the Lord, we are in a unique position to be used for His glory.
Happy St. Patrick's Day
St. Patrick’s Day is a popular holiday but is widely misunderstood. Rather than partaking in celebrations that deliberately ignore the Christian message behind the holiday, believers can choose to reflect on the life of St. Patrick and learn lessons that apply to their own lives.
The power of forgiveness, God’s redemptive use of painful circumstances, the need to spread the gospel, and a reminder that Christ is enough are all important takeaways from the life of a man who was a missionary to Ireland, the place of his former enslavement.
May we take time to reflect on the significance of St. Patrick’s legacy and consider how Jesus might move us to a deeper walk with Himself.
For further reading:
What Is St. Patrick's Day All About?
What Is the Celtic Cross? Its Origin and Meaning
The Celtic Missionaries of Ireland
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Kateryna Kovarzh
