Title: God's Careful Hands of Grace
Contents
Acts (128)
< God's meticulous suspending work >
After Paul was hastily sent by the commander in chief to Governor Felix, five days later, Ananias the high priest came along with some elders and Tertullus the lawyer to accuse Paul (v. 1). Tertulus accused Paul of three sins. First, he accused the plague of instigating the Jews, the second accused him of being the head of the Nazarene heresy, and the third accused him of defiling the temple (verses 5-6).
Hearing the accusation, Paul defended himself. First, Paul argued that he did not make any sedition related to political issues (vv. 11-13), followed by a pleading related to religious issues (vv. 14-21). Hearing the pleading, Felix postpones the verdict, saying that he will judge when Lucio, the commander, comes down (verse 22). He also detained Paul and set him free, allowing people to visit and serve him (verse 23).
Felix, like the captain, was very kind to Paul. Furthermore, a few days after the trial, he and his wife Drusilla, a Jewish woman, came to hear the gospel from Paul (verse 24). When the governor Felix and his wife came to visit Paul, Paul preached to them about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come (verse 25). Then Felix, who lived in injustice and greed, was afraid and said that he would call Paul whenever he had time.
In that way, Felix detained Paul for two years. If there was no sin, they should have been released, but to win the hearts of the Jews, they were just held in custody (verse 27). However, in the end, Paul's detention was a good thing for the advancement of the gospel. It was because there he preached the gospel to the people around him related to the governor whenever there was an opportunity.
In this way, the work to conquer the core Roman powers with the Gospel proceeded smoothly. In the end, Paul's suffering was a part of God's meticulous suspending work to make him go to Rome and conquer Rome with the gospel and finally achieve world evangelization effectively. What we suffer as we go toward such a holy vision is God's meticulous grading work in order to make the holy vision more splendid.
< God's meticulous hand of grace >
Take a look back at your life so far. Even though it seems like you have lived through a lot of hardship at times, aren't you living a good life now? In fact, being alive right now is the most wonderful thing. How could you live like this? It is because God protected us with the hand of grace even in difficult circumstances. Think of that grace and open your eyes to give thanks in everything. Bartimaeus is not the only blind man. If the eyes of gratitude are not opened, the person is even more miserable and blind.
David confessed in Psalm 103:1-2. “Bless the LORD, O my soul; Bless the holy name, all that is within me. / Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits.” If you look closely, the secret of David's success lies in this confession. David taught himself, “Praise and give thanks to God!” As such, teach yourself to be grateful.
Recognize your own sins and faults before the sins of others. The greatest crisis in life is not the threat of life or economic downfall, but the failure to recognize sin. When you think about your own sins and transgressions, how greatly do you feel the hand of God's grace? That hand of grace will continue to be meticulous in the future. Therefore, even if it is difficult, do not be discouraged and do your best while looking forward to the blessings of tomorrow. The trials given to sincere believers are given by God's meticulous hand, and they must work together to achieve good.