Testimony

But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. [Acts 20.24]

Was Paul's imprisonment at Jerusalem necessary? Should Paul have avoided Jerusalem?

The answers to these questions are hard. 

The Spirit of God revealed Paul's fate in Jerusalem to other believers - as if to help Paul avoid the pending incarceration. Why would God do that if it was His will for Paul to go? Why even bother including other people in it if Paul was determined to go anyway?

Yes, these qustions are hard!

However! Paul's resolve is unmistakably clear: he was determined to go to Jerusalem knowing it would lead to his demise. Paul was very clear that the value of his life was found in spreading the Good News. He was convinced it was God's will and that somehow his ministry would be greater in the invarceration and ultimate peril before him at Jerusalem.

So what does this mean? I wish I knew. But I know this: Paul's value of life was tied to spreading the message of Jesus. Wow.

Father, Paul's testimony about going to Jerusalem is compelling. His resolve to live by what he believed is clear. His determination to do God's will is in fact a testimony to us all.