This morning I was reading through Acts 21, and read something that caught my eye. I am very familiar with the verses and yet I don't remember reading this particular bit before. I am always amazed at how new revelation sort of hops off the page. Anyway, here are the verses - Acts 21:10-14 NIV:
[10] "After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. [11] Coming over to us, he took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, 'In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.' ”
[12] "When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. [13] Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” [14] When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The Lord's will be done.”
What caught my eye this morning was Paul's response to this prophecy of Agabus. While most everyone else was fearful, and Paul responded with confidence and faith in the Lord. He said He was "ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." What got me thinking this morning is that Paul, likely expected that He was going to die and yet he knew the path of the Lord's will for him led that way. I could almost imagine the Lord asking Paul if he was willing to die, to really lay down his life for Him?
I can tell you from experience that question from the Lord is no easy question. It is easy to think in our mind, "yeah, I would lay down my life!" but it is a much more sobering reality when you actually get asked the question, and really have to answer and walk out your answer. My experience was not so much a laying down my literal flesh and blood life, but rather my aspirations, dreams and reputation. The Lord asked me one morning if I was willing to lay down my life for someone that I loved very much, and while my answer was yes, it was with the full knowledge of what would likely occur as a result of that decision.
I believe the Lord had had that same conversation with Paul, laying before Him the question of whether he would be willing to lay down his life for His Name. I am confident Paul had already made the decision, much before Agabus brought this prophecy, so it was easy for Paul to make his pronouncement. His life had already been laid down, and He was willing to die for the Lord. Chains didn't scare him, nor the threat of death, for He knew this was the path of the Lord for him. He knew the Lord, and trusted Him. His relationship of intimacy allowed Him to step into a place of willingly sacrificing himself for love of the Lord.
The other thought I had in reading these verses is that there were probably some people in that crowd, who heard Paul proclaim this and went away thinking Paul had prophesied His own death in Jerusalem. We know that Paul didn't die in Jerusalem. I was thinking that it would be interesting to see how people responded, and especially after Paul didn't die in Jerusalem.
I am not looking for controversy, just recognizing our humanness and desire to be right, and hear correctly. Sometimes the Lord speaks and we don't hear clearly. Sometimes the Lord speaks and we only hear the part we want to hear. Often times if we are in a group and we hear something, we will all hear it slightly differently, but each of us will be convinced we heard correctly. Right now, in the Body of Christ, there are many voices saying many different things. Those speaking the words, I am sure, believe they have heard from the Lord, and are doing the best they can to bring those words to the Body. However, I can say that no one hears the Word of the Lord perfectly and no one speaks the Word of the Lord perfectly. Each of us needs to hear the Lord speaking for themselves, and sometimes that word is not popular, nor does it seem right to other believers. In the verses for reflection this morning, the whole crowd was trying to talk Paul out of going to Jerusalem, and His proclamation, while admirable, didn't sound correct to them! They wanted Paul to be safe, thought that made the most sense for the Body of Christ, admired His ministry and wanted to see Him continuing on, but God had other plans.
In summary, we need to have grace for one another. We need to have grace for those who don't understand, for those who don't hear correctly, for those whose human thinking is limiting their understanding of God's plans. We need to have grace for anyone that thinks differently than us! We need to recognize that God will sometimes test our resolve with words or invitations that will challenge us, that will cause us to count the cost, that will invite us to lay down our lives. These words are difficult to hear, and difficult to embrace. Others may not understand or agree, but we need to follow the Lord! Our relationship with Him must be the bedrock in our life, so that we are not dissuaded by other people's opinions.
Lord, we turn to You, and ask for clarity and compassion, for grace and mercy. Help us, as Your Body, to not be torn asunder by the many voices, but instead help us to press into You, the one voice, the Word, that we might hear for ourselves.
Amen and Amen!
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