For all the hoopla and wild parties that some practice on March 17, the real story of St. Patrick is worth remembering. A friend and Navigator colleague who is from Northern Ireland summarizes it this way:

It’s important to remember that Patrick was a great missionary. He was an apostle to the Irish in the AD 400s and was used by God to convert the Celts of Ireland to Christianity, despite opposition from those who practiced the Druid religion.

There’s more to the story, including the fact that Patrick was taken from his home in Britain to Ireland and sold as a slave, escaping after six years. Then he returned, years later, to evangelize the people who enslaved him. A nice summary written by Chuck Colson in 2006 is worth the read.

Last year, my friend and Navigator colleague Bill Mowry wrote an extraordinary piece on how Patrick incorporated art and imagination to reach the Irish. This is also an excellent read.

I can’t add to what Chuck and Bill have said except to note that the Apostle Paul was St Patrick’s model:

Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 21.13, ESV)

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. (1 Corinthians 9.19 – 22, ESV)