Compassion for the Lost

In Romans 9:3 Paul makes a remarkable statement: he expresses his desire that, if it were possible (it isn't) for him to be accursed from Christ so that his fellow Jewish countrymen could be grafted into Christ in his place, he would wish it. He makes it clear that he is expressing the true desire of his heart and is not speaking in hyperbole nor with deceitful motives. Paul's sanctified compassion for the very ones who persecuted him the most is both challenging and convicting to us all.