Have I Crossed The Line?

And Agrippa said to Festus, “He could have been set free if he hadn’t appealed to Caesar.” [Acts 26.32]

King Agrippa, his sister Bernice, and the governor Festus all heard Paul give his defense. Paul preached the Gospel to them, appealed to and encouraged their faith in God and His Son Jesus as prophesied in the Holy Scriptures.

Although they were unwilling to profess faith in Jesus, they saw no fault in Paul. Paul could have been set free had he not appealed to Caesar.

Now, before we go thinking, "how sad and ironic..." we must consider that Paul's incarceration was undoubtedly the only thing keeping him alive!

We must remember that those who hated Paul had done so with a tenacity of hatred second to none. It must be remembered that Paul was incarcerated by Felix (Festus' predecessor) for at least two years. For two full years Paul was out of the public eye! And yet, his haters remained bent on his destruction.

So, had Paul not appealed to Caesar, he would have been released and surely, within hours have fallen victim to a fatal attack.

I suppose, if we can see it, Paul's imprisonment was God's way of keeping Paul alive. I bet Paul saw it that way.

What could Paul have done any different? What could Paul have done to have been a functioning member of society without fear of being mobbed?

Good questions. But they are just questions. The opposite of every circumstance is not a better or worse circumstance, but another different circumstance. Our goal should not be to have a life of good circumstances, but a life of Kingdom purpose. Indeed we have all the power of heaven at our disposal in the execution of Kingdom purpose (and that should not be overlooked), but we must understand that obtaining the power of heaven is not the purpose of our lives! Our purpose is to "plant" God's Kingdom bringing a harvest of souls to God. Our purpose is absolutely no different than that which was demonstrated by the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

Think about it - Paul chose his destiny, he could have avoided Jerusalem and the incarceration that was prophesied to happen to him there. And, not unlike Jesus Who chose His destiny - at the right time, He laid down His life for our salvation.

I suppose the point is this: if all we are worried about is our circumstance, then we are clearly not focused on the Kingdom of God.

Paul had "crossed the line" regarding his faith and devotion to God. Just like Jesus, Paul gave his life for the ministry of the Gospel.

I think all too often we approach "the line" and retreat back to our comfort zones. It seems to me there is nothing "Kingdom" promoted when we do such. As important as we think we are, there is no reason to preserve our lives when it comes to the Gospel. Nothing, and Jesus said it, speaks more loudly than for one to lay down his life for his friends.

Have I "crossed the line'?

Father, Jesus' example, followed by Paul (and many others), is indeed my example. No one took His life - He laid it down.