Acts 14:8-15 “At Lystra a man was sitting who had
no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. This
man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had fixed his gaze on
him and had seen that he had faith to be made well, said with a
loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he leaped up and began to
walk. When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice,
saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have become like men and have
come down to us.” And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus,
and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. The priest
of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen
and garlands to the gates, and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. But
when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their robes
and rushed out into the crowd, crying out and saying, “Men, why are you
doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach
the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living
God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. ”
(NASB)
Hello,
As I was reading through Acts 14 this week, I was struck by
how quickly I zipped through this section. I kind of laughed at these crazy
people referring to Barnabas and Paul as gods, and moved on. But then I paused,
was it really that outrageous? Here these people see things they have never
seen before and want to attribute to something they are familiar with. They
also through this I believe show a desire to relate to deity by calling them by
the names of 2 popular gods. As Paul and Barnabas rush out to set the record
straight that they are mere men, and that God is doing these things in order
for them to hear the gospel, I think about us. How quickly do we look to
attribute things to that which we already know, instead of seeking to know God
more? The second thing that I think of is how natural the desire is for relationship,
including relationship with God. Thankfully, He desires that relationship too!
In both of these items we get distracted with the temporary
and the physical. We don’t put our attention in the long term and on the
spiritual. As we walk, let’s keep our attention on those things!
Have a blessed day,