We have a commission from the Lord, not to be an apostle, but to live for him, and to be separate from the world for him, and to honour him and worship him, and represent him and speak for him and witness for him. It is a commission from the Lord. How lightly we take it, and we need to ask sometimes these questions. Who gave me this commission? By whom am I commissioned? By God, by the Creator of heaven and earth, by Christ the Saviour who suffered and died for us, the ever living, all-powerful, all-knowing God. He has commissioned all of us: Paul to be an apostle, you and I to be witnesses of him and to make Christ our great priority in life. Have we forgotten who gave us this commission? Not a mere Prime Minister, or earthly sovereign, not a mere human being, not somebody fleeting, somebody defective who doesn't really know us; it is God who has commissioned us. This commission we have in our hearts. This should be so stirring to us. ‘I was saved by Christ’, we say. ‘I was washed from all sin. I was given a new nature and a new life, and then I was given a solemn commission; I was entrusted.’ That should motivate me. I have big responsibilities in life which I have to fulfil towards my wife, husband, children, family, to keep a home, to provide; they are all responsibilities, and I have to honour them. But there is something far higher: a commission from Almighty God, from Christ the Saviour. I should think of it often. Paul was motivated by his commission as an apostle, and that will come through.