Acts_21
SCRIPTURE
Acts 21: 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.”
OBSERVATION-What does it say?
Although urged on several accounts not to go to Jerusalem Paul insists on going for the cause of Christ. He holds to the promise of the unseen and looks forward to receiving the rewards of his faith.
UNDERSTANDING-What does it mean?
What strikes me about this passage is the fact that he was urged by believers not to go to Jerusalem. It was not by people trying to dissuade him of his calling or take him away from God, but people who believed in him and God’s mission. Yet, full of faith, Paul urges to press on into the unknown. He literally “prepares for the worst,” which to him is seen as a reward.
The Message translates it this way “The issue in Jerusalem is not what they do to me, whether arrest or murder, but what the Master Jesus does through my obedience.”
As Christians we are not called to live by consensus or live comfortably, we are called to live a life of obedience. Obedience often denotes action, and action requires moving from where we are to a place we’ve never been. God uses this obedience to do things we have never imagined. He takes our tiny faith and stretches it on forever. He takes us past the point of no return, the point in which death is seen as a reward and obedience comes easily. Paul expected that God was going to move in Jerusalem and he didn’t want to miss out. He went regardless of the warnings not to. With this kind of faith no excuse or reason was going to keep him from the cause of Christ. He had a gift too great to keep to himself.
LIFE APPLICATION
I want to go regardless of the circumstances. So be it if I must leave this world behind to attain a life I can only imagine. So be it I must sacrifice earthly possessions. I choose obedience! I want to see God show up everywhere, and I want to say that I was used by Him. I’m tired of the comfort, I’m tired of the excuses, I’m ready to travel to places I’ve never been, I’m ready. All for the name of the Lord Jesus, to Him be the glory, honor, and praise.
-Allison Khan