28:3 But when Paul had
gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because
of the heat, and fastened on his hand. 4 So when the natives saw the creature
hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a
murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to
live.” 5 But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 6
However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead.
But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they
changed their minds and said that he was a god.
I like meeting barbarians. I find in them a reflection of
myself. They are decent folk but unstable. They don't act from truth, they
react based on ever changing circumstances. What do I mean?
Look at the brief few moments described above. They meet a
stranger who floats onto their beach from a shipwreck. They find out he is a
prisoner enroute to Rome. Like me they become suspicious and wary. Soon after a
viper attacks him and quickly, even immediately they determine it is divine
payment for his evil deeds. Fate has struck him down. However he doesn't die.
Stunned by this unexpected and unexplainable turn of events they flip flop and
decide he is a god.
What do they know for sure about Paul? Very little. What
about are they willing to conclude about Paul? A whole lot. They know little
but from that little draw much. Too much. First he is a murderer suffering the
vengeance of fate and then he is a god, above the weakness of mere men.
What a contrast we are compared to Jesus. We rise and fall
and twist and turn with the ever changing circumstances of life. One minute we
are swearing allegiance to Jesus and the next we are denying we ever knew Him.
One moment we are willing to follow, obey Him, and crown Him king because He
provided a free lunch, but the next we are screaming "Don't you care that
I'm dying?!!" because it started to rain.
One day we promise "Whatever You say, that's what we
will do." A few days later we're behaving liked depraved fools. Who are
we? We are barbarians. Our beliefs are based on the here and now. If things are
good, God is good. If things are bad we doubt there even is a God.
Contrast that with Jesus. He was human like us. He had not a
single advantage over us. When He became one of us it was the complete package.
The miracles that happened were just like the ones the disciples did later or
Elijah did before Him. They were simply answers to His human prayers. The
miracles were all done by God. That's why He declared: "I can by Myself do
nothing."
As a human he was tossed about by human emotions just like we
are. Circumstances affected Him just as they affect us. He knew frustration and
impatience. He knew hurt feelings and betrayal. It hurt Him every bit as much
as it hurts us.
However there was a difference. Deeper than the changing tide
of circumstances Jesus lived and acted by truth. He did not react based on
external events. He instead chose to act on what He knew to be true.
There are many examples but only one is necessary to put this
in perspective.
When He was dying the ordeal turned determined Peter into a
puddle of failure. The pressures of the moment and the tidal wave of
circumstances flipped him upside down as quickly as the barbarians changed
their tune about Paul. However Jesus was living the exact same circumstances
only much more directly. What Peter was watching, Jesus was living. Peter was
doing the betraying. Jesus was being betrayed.
It got so awful and so dark that day that Jesus encapsulated
all the feelings and pressure with one question. "My God, My God, why have
you forsaken Me?"
Yet the day wasn't over. Jesus was not finished talking. His
last words were "Father into Your hands do I commit My Spirit."
He felt betrayed but acted from truth. Rather than react
based on the very real circumstances and the feelings they generated He acted
based on what He knew was true even if at the moment that truth of His Father’s
unfailing love could not be seen or felt.
I like meeting barbarians because I recognize in them that as
a fool tossed about by the every shifting events of life I am not alone.
However I long to become like Jesus. I long to still be real and still feel
everything for what it is, yet have my soul anchored in truths so deep and so
real that no circumstances can move me from them.
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