27:4 When we had put to
sea from there, we sailed under the shelter of Cyprus, because the winds were
contrary. 5 And when we had sailed over the sea which is off Cilicia and
Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. 6 There the centurion found an
Alexandrian ship sailing to Italy, and he put us on board.
7 When we had sailed
slowly many days, an arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, the wind not
permitting us to proceed, we sailed under the shelter of Crete off Salmone. 8
Passing it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the
city of Lasea.
Boring right? I mean who cares what islands they sailed past?
Unless of course you are a geographical historian of that era or you have a
knowledge of and an interest in the sailing ships and methods of the time.
So what about the rest of us? Are we just supposed to skip
past? I admit that yesterday I read all of chapter 27 and I wondered what could
be gleaned from their travel itinerary. However something happened in the early
hours this morning that changed all that. At 3:47 we were jarred awake by a persistent
knocking on our door. A man driving by saw that the shop next to us was on
fire. He wanted to alert us and use our phone to call 911. The shop is a local
business that provides the entire livelihood for a local family. A report about
the fire would tell you what happened to the building but not how it may affect
that family. Behind facts there are people.
With those concerns in mind this morning I saw something new
in the apparently random (even unnecessary) details about their voyage at sea.
Here is what I saw between the lines. Paul has been sailing
for years from port to port eager to make Jesus known. The travelling was not
by plane. It wasn't even by comfy cruise ships. It was a lot of tossing and
storms and risking his life for people he had never even met yet. There was no
travel budget. No reimbursement for expenses. He was a man on a mission. His
thought was not about himself but others and although we are not told much
about it we get enough glimpses to know the journey was not easy. If the ship
carrying the royal guard was having that much trouble getting across the
Mediterranean imagine some of the boats Paul likely took all those years of
preaching from city to city.
That's what struck me yesterday and this morning. All
around us we see and hear but behind everything and everyone there is a story.
When I went to the tiny coop grocery store here yesterday one of the clerks
came to me. She was excited. Her eyes were literally sparkling with joy. She
has been instrumental in spearheading a drive to help the less fortunate in our
area. There is a story behind that too. There is always a story.
Next time you read, or see, or hear something that catches
your attention by the sheer random boringness of it stop to consider the back story, the
hidden story, the untold story. There is always more to the story...
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