Moment of Meditation: Apostle Paul?

St. Paul calls himself an Apostle. Can he really be an Apostle? After all, the Bible lays out the qualifications for an Apostle. They disqualify Paul. When seeking Judas' replacement, Peter says, "Of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness iwth us of His resurrection" (Acts 1:21-22). Paul fits none of these criteria. So, how does Paul get away with calling himself an Apostle? This is the point he has to make over and over again to the congregations he planted. Other Christian leaders would come in and tell the congregation that Paul wasn't a '''REAL''' Apostle. That they carried God's Word from the real Apostles. That they were correcting where he had no authority to speak. But Paul combats them in Galatians and elsewhere. We'll see his defense of his Apostleship in the next couple of meditations. Until then, know this. Paul is an Apostle because Jesus called him to be an Apostle. Amen.