Sometimes how something is done is just as important, or even more important, than what is done. Take baking for example.
I am not an expert baker by any stretch of the imagination, but I dabble with baking and can do OK. One of the things that I have learned is that sometimes the baker’s technique can make all the difference. Same ingredients, same finished baked good, but a world of difference based on each baker’s technique and skills. One baker can dump in some egg whites into a cake batter while another baker whips the egg whites first, and the difference of cakes can be profound.
Sometimes in life we can be quite utilitarian—looking merely at the results but missing the process, or journey, taken to get to them. This week’s session is a good reminder for us, and a good opportunity to help our kids see, that we don’t want to miss how God does what He does too.
God had quite a plan for Paul, one that He revealed pretty early on in Paul’s faith journey. Paul would share the gospel before kings and rulers. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Exciting.
Now, let’s imagine we were Paul. How might we anticipate this playing out? Perhaps one day a messenger would knock our our door with an invitation from a king. Perhaps we would be at a gala and connect. We can think of a thousand different exciting, fun ways for this to play out.
But how many of us would have thought of prison being the method? How many of us would have thought that we would stand before the king, but we would do so in chains? Yet, this was precisely how God brought Paul to Caesar.
How matters.
This week, help your kids see that God is quite creative in how He brings His promises and His will about. Sometimes, He will use exciting, fun means. But not always. There will be times when He uses challenging situations—even painful ones—to bring about what He desires. Our job is to be like Paul, who followed in the steps of Jesus—to trust God no matter what, obey Him no matter what, and rejoice in Him no matter what.
Someone might ask, ‘Why it is that when [Paul] heard “You must testify about me in Rome,” he did this, as if he did not believe?’ God forbid! He did this … because he believed very strongly, for it would have been the action of one who is tempting God to be bold on account of that declaration, to plunge himself into ten thousand dangers and to say, ‘Let’s see if God can deliver me even so.’ Paul did not do this but made use of all that was in himself, entrusting everything to God.” — Chrysostom (c. 349-407)
Chrysostom, Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles 51, quoted in Acts, ed. Francis Martin, vol. V in Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2001) [Logos].
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