Rough Around The Edges?

Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowds to their side. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead. [Acts 14.19]

It seems early on that Paul roused a following of a different sort simultaneous with building the Body of Christ. 

It wasn't long into Paul's and Barnabas' first missionary journey that they had an apparent group of naysayers committed to following them wherever they went and refuting the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is interesting that John Mark was mentioned early on too. John Mark was there at Cyprus with Paul and Barnabas as their assistant. There, in Cyprus, evidently something happened that made this John Mark's last stop with them for a while. 

Also, there in Cyprus Paul confronted Elymas and he was struck with blindness.

As observers, is it not obvious to us that Paul was a little rough around the edges?

One thing that stood out to me today is the fact that early on, the disciples and followers of Jesus seemed to take their power kind of like James and John were disposed to during Jesus' ministry years. Ananias and Sapphira had the power of God unleashed on them, and then Elymas experienced the same.

But did Jesus ever promote this kind of use of God's authority?

The thing is, the Church, in Paul's day, was still very much in its formative years. Did the early apostles and followers of Christ rightly wield the power of God they had been granted?

For me, I see the book of Acts and all the writings about the early church as informative. Yes, there are many useful instructions to live by, but there are also clues into personalities throughout. I think a careful student of the Bible will be alert to all, comparing it constantly to the life and ministry of Jesus. There is much to be learned from so doing!

Father, help us to be objective about the early church. Help us to compare the formation of the early church with the life and ministry of Jesus. Help us to likewise be objective about the church today! Help us to constantly compare ourselves to Jesus and remain true to Him over all.