Dear Friends,
I think the word victim in the dictionary should have the apostle
Paul’s picture beside it with a smiley face.
Whenever I am tempted to throw my own pity party, I think of Paul,
and all he went through as a follower of Jesus.
Paul wanted to go to Rome as a preacher to testify to Nero, the
emperor, but instead he went to Rome as a prisoner. He was Illegally arrested
in Jerusalem, misrepresented in court, incorrectly identified as an Egyptian
renegade, entangled in the red tape of political bureaucracy, granted passage
across the Mediterranean Sea only to be shipwrecked in a violent storm. And
when he finally did arrive in Rome, he was imprisoned and largely forgotten.
And yet, despite all of this, he is never glum or gloomy. His
mouth is filled with gratitude not grumbling, for he knows that God has placed
him in that prison for a special purpose.
It has been said, “that two men look through the same bars, and
one saw the mud and the other saw the stars.” What each saw depended on their
perspective.
For Paul, his imprisonment was no accident, but an appointment. It
was part of God’s grand design to provide an opportunity for him to reach those
he might not otherwise reach with the gospel. It enabled him to have contact
with the elite Roman guards and others in government positions.
It has been said that “Christians are like teabags, not much good
until they’ve been in the boiling water.” It is easy to be a Christian when
everything is going well for us. However, the true test of a person’s character
is best seen when he or she loses everything. How a person reacts in good times
does not tell me much about a person. No, the best way to evaluate a person’s
character is to watch how he or she responds to unfavorable circumstances.
The Apostle Paul passes the character test with flying colors.
Why? Because of his perspective.
Like Joseph, who was ripped off by his brothers, he could say with
Joseph, “You meant it for evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Genesis
50: 20).
Paul writes to the church at Philippi, “I want you to know, dear brothers
and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped me to
spread the good news. For everyone here, including all the soldiers in the
Palace Guard, know that I am in chains because of Christ. And because of my
imprisonment, many of the Christians here have gained confidence and become bolder
and telling others about Christ”(Philippians 1: 12-13).
For Paul, life was not bound up in success, prestige, power, popularity,
comfort, or any of these qualities. It was bound up in Christ, and because of
it he could say, “For me to live is Christ, and for me to die is gain”
(Philippians 1: 21).
How do you rob a person of joy whose one’s life is so centered on
Christ? If I live, Christ is with me, and if I die, I am with Him. Either way,
I can’t lose.
Let’s keep our eyes focused on Christ today, knowing that whatever
we are going through provides an opportunity for us to enlarge and extend our
witness to others who may be going through similar circumstances.
We need to remind ourselves that the world is more interested in
viewing our lives than listening to our lips.
Our spoken testimony is important, but our living testimony is
even more important. And what better witness is there than a Christian ‘tea
bag’ smiling in the boiling water.
Yours in faith and friendship,
Tom
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