We might want to make a hero of Paul. Surely he would serve well as a hero of the faith. His life and complete dedication to spreading the gospel are heroic and emulatable. Sometimes Paul does seem to dance on the fine line of showing how important the message is and of showing how dedicated he is to delivering that message. But these words here point me toward believing that Paul is making the point of how far he has gone not so that they would trust him. He's doing this to point them to the One whose message he is carrying. He's doing it to encourage hearts, to knit people together, and to point them toward all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge centered in Jesus. What more can any hero do?
