Blinded by the Light

Acts 26

Food for Life:

Acts 26
"Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently...I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me...I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds..that is why the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me."(26:3b, 17b-18, 20b).

I love the humility of Paul. He was a highly educated, well trained, accomplished man...who was knocked of his horse by the Presence of Christ through bright, blinding Light. He had every earthly reason to be puffed up...and perhaps he was until he was 'knocked of his horse.' After Jesus' intervention and transformation of his life, he was humble. "...I beg you to listen to me patiently", that is a powerful way to open up a defense. It recognizes that the person before him has a choice not to listen to him (and from an earthly perspective, Agrippa had the right to have him executed...). Paul knew that his life was in the Lord's hands, yet he was humbly respectful of the earthly position of Agrippa. More than that, Paul was humble before 'the least of these' with whom he interacted. Paul was being "[obedient ] to the vision from heaven" that was given to him directly from Jesus (19b). It was Jesus, it was the vision that he was given and the Holy Spirit's continued presence within him that enabled him to be humble in the face of impending death and in the face of those who had absolutely no power over him.

Humility. Being humble. Humility is recognizing who God is, who I am and the difference between the two. It is also recognizing that regardless of the earthly position one is in, we are all on a level field - we are all Image Bearers of God - and it is only by His Grace that we stand.

"Thank You Lord. Let the humility of Christ be pervasive in and through our lives - help us to 'see' the vision You have for each one of us, that we might be obedient to it, to You. Thanks for loving us Lord. I love You."