Late to the Party?

Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. I Corinthians 15:8 (NKJV)

Paul made this statement in referring to those who saw the risen Savior. Jesus appeared to Peter, the 12 disciples and number of others. After He had ascended, He then appeared to Paul. Looking at some other translations may clarify what he meant by “born out of due time.”

And last of all, as if to one born abnormally late, he appeared to me! I Corinthians 15:8 (J.B. Phillips New Testament, PHILLIPS)

and last of all he appeared to me, as if I were born at the wrong time. I Corinthians 15:8 (Contemporary English BIBLE, CEB)

Last of all, he also appeared to me. I was like someone who wasn’t born at the right time. I Corinthians 15:8 (New International Readers Version, NIRV)

Paul is saying he came late to the party, like a baby that wasn’t born at the expected time. Paul wasn’t physically present when Jesus appeared to the others because he wasn’t yet acquainted with Jesus. Although Paul wasn’t a believer until later, Jesus still appeared to him.

Have you ever felt like you were “late to the party” and missed out on something? You may even think you can’t be used because you waited too long to come to the Lord. Let me tell you something- God will always make it up to us if our timing seems to be off. If we don’t lose hope and we stay in faith, we won’t miss out on anything. Just like Paul, God will include us in what He is doing.

As a matter of fact, it might appear that Paul missed out on being with Jesus like the others were, but in fact, he received some of the clearest, most amazing revelation of any of the early apostles. For instance, consider the detail and understanding with which he wrote about the Lord’s supper in I Corinthians 11. He was not there, yet he wrote as if he was. How could he do this? After his conversion, Paul did not instantly spend time with the other apostles, but instead went off alone for several years and sought the Lord. Therefore, he did not get this information from the others. Jesus had appeared to him and shown it to him in living color! In a way, Paul had it much better than the others because he got the revelation one-on-one directly from Jesus, like a personal Bible study with the Master.

And just think- Paul has the honor of being the one who wrote most of the New Testament, which he received because he had spent time with the Lord.

Jesus will use us and give us whatever we need, even if we feel like we arrived late. He is a personal God, and He has insight, revelation, and experiences in store for us- just like He did for Paul. What we must do is seek Him. Paul set himself aside and did not enter into ministry immediately. He sat and learned at the feet of Jesus. When we come aside and sit at His feet, we will learn of Him, and then He can use us mightily- even if we were late to the party.