What powerful ministry Paul has had and what ground has he covered, bringing the gospel... Would such a ministry still be possible for someone nowadays? Most certainly. For even today there are still people who have dedicated their whole lives to Jesus Christ, and therefore can testify that their service to the people has not been fruitless.
If we really want to be useful in God’s hands, if we truly want to serve the world in which we live by bringing the gospel - not just in words but with great force - then, just like Paul, we need to have the attitude that Jesus had.
What this attitude entails cannot be described in a few words. All the books of the world would not be enough to fully describe the greatness of the Spirit of Christ! And perhaps we need a lifetime to come to truly experience that fullness of the Spirit of God.
But here we do find something very important, which is that Paul did not seek the praise of men.
Whoever seeks praise and recognition from men is not truly a servant of Jesus, but seeks confirmation of himself. A harsh reality, but no less true. Jesus says, ‘How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?’(John 5:44).
Whoever is more bothered by his reputation in men’s eyes than by God’s opinion about him, will never get to the true commitment to his neighbor, to be able to serve him in the Spirit of Christ.