About open ears and open hearts…
Acts 9:5 "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. 6
"Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must
do." (NIV)
Remarkably, some of us need to be struck down in order to stand tall. Some of
us need to taste the bitter fruit in order to be willing to die so others may
taste the fruit that is sweet. Each of us is told by God, in some form or
another, to get up and go forth. What is remarkable is that sometimes all God
tells us is to get up and go forth without any further word or direction by God.
Paul's encounters with Christ are dramatic but extremely limited. Yet, Paul
sacrificed immeasurably for abandoning all Paul believed in prior to Paul's
hearing Christ on the road to Damascus. Paul was not given an easy and comfy
special sit-down session with Christ, God, and the Holy Spirit. Paul would
continue to eat the bitter fruit of persecution for the rest of his earthly
life. However, Paul's earthly work for Christ lives on and will live on until
Christ returns. In the same way, the earthly work you do in Christ's name will
live on in the future. Your work may be seen only by God, but that is enough.
Your sacrifice may be seen only by God, but that is enough. None of us should
ever do what we do in the Christian faith for personal gain, for personal
reward, for personal power, or for personal recognition. All of us must do what
we do in the Christian faith only so Christ will gain, only so Christ's name
will be rewarded, and only so Christ's name will be recognized.
