Acts 21:17-26
English Standard Version (ESV)
17 When we had come to
Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly. 18 On the following day Paul went in with us to James,
and all the elders were present. 19 After greeting them he related one by one the
things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 And when they heard it,
they glorified God. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many
thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous
for the law, 21 and
they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among
the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their
children or walk according to our customs. 22 What then is to be done?
They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men who
are under a vow; 24 take
these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses,
so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in
what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in
observance of the law. 25 But
as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our
judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and
from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual
immorality.” 26 Then
Paul took the men, and the next day he purified himself along with them
and went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification
would be fulfilled and the offering presented for each one of them.
I
am not quite sure what to think of these verses. Throughout this passage we once again see the
love and support that the early church had for Paul. Even in places like Jerusalem where Paul had
a part in the stoning of Stephen. These
early church believers could have held a grudge against Paul, they could have
had the desire to let him have what was coming to him, after all one of their
owns’ blood was on his hands, yet, they rejoiced with him. They knew he was a forgiven man and that he
had won many to the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
Rather than condemn him they rejoiced with this man. Rather than throw him to the wolves they came
up with a plan to help him avoid arrest.
Funny thing with plans though, if they are not the Lord’s plan, something
will indeed happen that will result in the outcome that is His will even when
it contradicts our own desires. Even
when it appears that we are doing right and good in His eyes, if He has another
direction for us to go, He will point us to it even through our attempts to not
go there!
I
like the idea that these men had Paul’s back but ultimately it is God that has
our back even in those times that we think life is unfair. We seem to think that if it is God’s we will
have smooth sailing but that is not
usually the case. When we are in the
will of the Father we should be content yet not complacent in our living. We should be willing to go wherever God calls
us but we should do so with the anticipation that His way is not always our
way. He may be calling us to display our
faith in the midst of trials and tribulations.
The most powerful testimonies come from those who put their full trust
in the Lord in situations that they would rather not be in. These are the people who “work out” their
faith through their actions. We can all
sit at home in our comfortable chair, like I am right now, and proclaim how
good our God is. But how much more
powerful is our testimony when we are hurting, grieving, or far from home and
we can still give God glory and praise for what He has done for us.
Life
brings joy but it is coupled with pain.
There will be times in our life that we do everything we can to avoid
the pain but those are the times that the Lord is telling us to lean on Him not
on our own understanding. Our purpose is
to bring others to Him and we need to do so through times of happiness and
contentment and in times of struggles and pain.
As
you seek Him ask for guidance and strength to make it from one day to the next
for as long as He wants you here on this earth.
Seeking
Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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