Fleeting Fame

 Meditations on The Acts of the Apostles

 March 9, 2021

Fleeting Fame

 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.

Acts 14:19

Read: Acts 14:8-20

Remember the old saying, ‘God created us in His image, and we have returned the favor?” There is always the danger that we will try to conform the message of God to the context of our own understanding, our own experiences. That is what happened to the Apostles in Lystra. The people heard the Gospel and also witnessed the power of God revealed in the healing of the man crippled from birth. But they internalized it within the context of their current belief system.

There are substantial differences in the way the Gospel is lived out around our country and around the world. While it is expected there will be some cultural differences, the substantial differences are more the result of people trying to conform the Gospel to their way of life rather than their seeking to have Christ formed in them. We must always seek to discern whether we want God, or do we want God to bless our way of life.

I am humbled by the persistence of Paul and Barnabas. They are repeatedly knocked to the floor, yet they got up and returned to the very place where they were rejected. This is the love that is self-sacrificing for the good of another. Paul’s lifestyle would later be reflected in his words to the Philippians, “Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” (Philippians 2:3b-4)

My Takeaway: Too often our response to rejection is flight or fight. I want to follow the model of Paul and Barnabas’ loving persistence.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2021 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.