Reading for March 7-11
Acts 20
Tuesday
The Advantages of Difficulty
"When Paul was going to board a ship for Syria, he found out that the Jews were plotting to kill him. So he decided to go back through Macedonia." Acts 20:3 (GW)
Pastor’s Reflection
Although Paul loved, was committed to, and went out of his way to encourage the new believers in the churches he started, part of his inconvenience was having to avoid a plot to take his life.
The Christian Life is good, the best of all lives available, yet among the hardest when lived out fully.
Yet, what were the results of Paul’s delay in getting to Jerusalem and eventually Rome?
1. The churches got more time with Paul than he had perhaps intended.
2. When you read the rest of this chapter you will read one of the most beautiful farewell addresses you will have the opportunity to read.
3. During the travels detailed in this chapter it is thought by most scholars that Second Corinthians and Romans were written, Romans being the most profound theological treatise in all of Christianity.
4. And, yes, we have the story of Paul boring someone to death. (more on this tomorrow)
This is one of the most basic principles that Christianity teaches. What one person or one group intends for harm or evil, God turns around and intends it for good (Genesis 50:20 and Romans 8:28). This is the Gospel. What God did for Jesus (resurrection) God is doing for the world.
How many times have I read about the good that God brings out of evil?...how many times have I told others about the hope that it offers when they are experiencing difficult circumstances?...and yet why is it sooooo hard for me to grasp this right now as we experience another setback in our son's recovery from addiction.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Pastor Jeff, for this reflection. It inspires me to once again push fear to the back of my mind, place our son in God's hands and hold onto hope (instead of control), and praise God for the gift of his son, Jesus Christ, through whom my son will find victory.
Anonymous 2: To encourage anonymous regarding their setback, I feel lead to share about a pastor and his wife, good friends, whose son, in his teens, was making the same decisions as your son. They had many setbacks even to the point of incarceration of their son. Their son accepted the Lord somewhere in between and in prison he was helping others. However, he, himself struggled to get free. The parents persisted in loving him and seeking the Lord, just as you are doing. It took time. The good news is this young man and his family are now preparing to move to Brazil to assist his brother in missionary work. You have the Victory, it is here, though you may not see evidence of it as of yet. Seeds take time to grow and for the roots to go deep, some more than others. Just keep the water, fertilizer and Sonshine coming to that seedling. And take care of yourselves as well, keep growing in the Lord yourselves.
ReplyDelete