Today is St Patrick’s Day and people wear green. But who was this St Patrick?
Patrick was born in Britain, just before Patrick turned 16 years old, he and his family were attacked by Irish pirates. Although Patrick’s family escaped, Patrick and many of the family’s workers did not. The captives were taken to Ireland, where Patrick was sold as a slave was forced to work as a herdsman.
Though raised in a Christian home, Patrick didn’t come to faith in Christ until he was kidnapped and made a slave. As he herded sheep his devotion to GOD grew and did not go unnoticed. He was nicknamed “Holy Boy” among his fellow slaves.
One night Patrick in a dream heard a voice telling him, “Soon you will be returning to your own country.” At age 22, Patrick escaped and traveled 200 miles to the coast of Ireland. He later wrote, “I turned on my heel and ran away, leaving behind the man to whom I had been bound for six years. Yet I came away from him in the power of GOD, for it was HE who guided my every step, so I felt not the least anxiety until I reached the ship.”
When Patrick approached one of the men on the ship and asked to board, the seaman scowled at him. As Patrick started to leave, the man called back to him, saying the other passengers wanted him on board.
After running out of food, the captain turned to Patrick and challenged him to ask his GOD for more. Glad to oblige, Patrick turned trustingly to the LORD who was his GOD and said, “Put your faith in HIM with all your heart, because nothing is impossible to HIM. On this day, HE will send us food sufficient for our journey, because for HIM there is abundance everywhere.”
According to Patrick’s autobiography, when the men turned around, a herd of pigs was standing before them. They feasted for days and gave thanks to God.
Patrick finally made it to his beloved Britain and into the arms of his mother and father, who pleaded with him never to leave them again. But one night Patrick had a dream and he seemed to hear the voice of the same men he worked with as if they were shouting, “Holy broth of a boy, we beg you, come back and walk once more among us.”
But church leaders and Patrick’s parents fiercely opposed his plans to return to Ireland. Patrick had to sell his title of nobility to become the “slave of Christ serving the barbaric nation.”
While in Ireland, Patrick shared the gospel with his former slave owner, Miliuc the Druid. But instead of turning his back on his pagan gods, Miliuc locked himself in his house and set it on fire while Patrick stood outside and pleaded with him to turn to Christ. It is said that Miliuc drowned out Patrick’s pleas by crying out to his false gods.
Miliuc’s refusal to hear the gospel was just the beginning of Patrick’s challenges with the Druids as he spread the Good News across Ireland and taught its people how to read and write. While some Druids believed, others tried to kill him.
As Patrick journeyed across Ireland he preached at racetracks and other places of worldly indulgence, seeing many come to Christ. However, this was not without opposition. The Druids often tried to poison him. Once, a barbarian warrior speared Patrick’s chariot driver to death in an attempt to kill Patrick. He was often ambushed at his evangelistic events and was enslaved again for a short time and had to purchase safe passage through a hostile warlord’s land to continue on his journey.
Patrick wrote, “As every day arrives, I expect either sudden death or deception, or being taken back as a slave or some such other misfortune. But I fear none of these, since I look to the promise of heaven and have flung myself into the hands of the all-powerful God, who rules as Lord everywhere.”
Patrick journeyed throughout Ireland, sharing Christ until his death on March 17, around the year A.D. 461. Later, the creatures of Irish mythology known as leprechauns crept into the holiday celebrations, as did the symbol of the shamrock, believed to have been used by Patrick to illustrate the Trinity as he preached and taught.
Some legends say that Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland. But since there are no snakes in Ireland and snakes often symbolize the devil and evil, many believe the “snakes” were a metaphor representing his work of driving the idol-worshiping Druid cult out of the country.
Patrick took what he learned through a deep trial to testify of JESUS. Our struggles can also be turned into a testimony. Do you, do I have a heart like Patrick’s set on fire for the lost and a boldness willing to speak of our Savior JESUS to those we come in contact with?
Hugs
Sharon
wakemyear 