“Then Paul answered, ‘Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.’” Acts 21:13.
Paul finally arrived at Caesarea, the last port before traveling by land to Jerusalem. At Caesarea, Paul and his companions stayed with Philip and his family for several days. While there, prophetic words came forward, telling the people of Paul’s arrest and almost certain death. Silencing their pleas to not go to Jerusalem, Paul stated that it was breaking his heart to see all of the people pleading for him to not do something he was being compelled to do by the Holy Spirit. As he stared death squarely in the face, Paul told the people that he was willing to die for the sake of Jesus and His kingdom. This was not just an idle comment but expressed Paul’s willingness to face the reality of death in Jerusalem for the sake of the kingdom of God.
It is somewhat easy for me, in the comfort of my home, to say that I am willing to die for Jesus, but it is quite another when facing that reality. In many parts of the world, followers of Jesus are threatened, beaten, and sometimes killed for spreading the life giving message of Jesus. For them, this is a reality. Most of us in the West are spoiled with all the comforts of a “prosperous” life. These comforts can anesthetize us to the realities of the kingdom of God. Paul was fully aware of these realities and willing to look fully into the face of death as he spread the life-giving message of Jesus and His kingdom.
Questions to consider: What are you willing to die for? How anesthetized are you? Are the comforts you live in dulling you to the realities of the kingdom of God? What can you do about it?
Prayer: Father, forgive me for relying on the comforts that surround me. Please help me to see the reality of Your kingdom, which has come, and is continuing to come, here on earth, and to respond accordingly. Amen.
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