For hundreds of years, people all over the world have celebrated St. Patrick’s Day. But very little is known about the man whose life the holiday honors. Much of St. Patrick’s story is a mystery, shrouded by centuries of myth and legend. This much we do know:
Just over 1,500 years ago, a young Welsh teenager was stolen away from his family—kidnapped by a band of marauders—and sold into slavery in a foreign land. Years later, he finally managed to escape and make his way home . . . only to feel God calling him to return to the land of his slavery! Patrick was to preach the light of truth to a people lost in darkness: the people of Ireland.
At that time, the Irish were pagans and druids. They worshipped all kinds of gods and spirits and supernatural beings. Their lives were held captive by fear and superstition. So great was the love God gave Patrick for the people of Ireland that he was willing to risk the very real possibility of imprisonment, torture, and death. Earlier attempts to reach the Irish had been unsuccessful. Others had thoroughly failed. But having lived in the land for six years himself, Patrick understood the language, the culture, the customs. He was able to communicate with the people in a way they understood.
Patrick preached that the people had good reason to live in fear—though not because they might offend some imaginary spirit beings or fail to appease man-made gods. They should fear the judgment of the one true God. Someday every human being would have to stand before Him and account for their sin—every evil thought, every unkind act, every cruel word. Sins of ignorance and sins of willful disobedience to God’s commands.
This was true for the people Patrick preached to in Ireland, and it’s true for us today. The Bible tells us that all of us have fallen short of God’s holy and righteous standards. We’ve all sinned. Ultimately, the punishment for sin is death and hell—eternal separation from God. But in His goodness and mercy, God made a way for us to be reconciled to Himself. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
God sent Jesus to take the punishment in our place—to die on the cross and pay the penalty for our sin. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26).
We don’t have to live in fear. Because of Jesus, the power of sin has been broken. “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). No matter what challenges we face, no matter how difficult our lives may be, we can draw comfort from this blessed assurance: “Neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).
All who trust in Him can look forward to experiencing this love forever in Heaven, a place so beautiful it defies description. “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Thousands of people responded to Patrick’s message. They found peace with God, experienced His forgiveness, and began a new life through Jesus Christ. What about you? Would you like to know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and receive eternal life through Him? If you haven’t already committed your life to Christ, you might pray something like this:
Dear Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner in need of a Savior. Thank You for loving me so much that You were willing to sacrifice Your life to save me, to die on the cross to set me free from sin. Help me to live in that freedom day by day. Fill my heart with joy and peace as I learn to trust in You. Amen.