“The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul,
allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs.” Acts 27:3.
Paul, along with several other prisoners, was placed
under the watchful eyes of Julius, a centurion from the Imperial Regiment. They left by ship from the port at Caesarea
and landed the next day up the coast at Sidon,
in Phoenicia. During the days leading up to their departure
and on this first leg of the journey, Julius must have recognized something
very different about Paul, as he chose to show Paul kindness by allowing some
of the fellow followers of Jesus in the Sidon area to come and take care of
Paul’s needs.
Do people around you see anything different about
you? Sometimes I think that I just blend
into the world around me. It doesn’t
mean that I compromise my faith when I am around others; it just means that I
look very similar to those around me.
What causes me concern is when I see my actions start to slip and I
start doing things and acting in a way that I know I shouldn’t. Paul evidently conducted himself in a manner
that communicated to Julius that he could be trusted. I wonder if I communicate the same trustworthiness. It is my desire to lead a life that is worthy
of being trusted. I want to live this
way not so that I will be shown kindness, as Julius showed Paul, but because of
my commitment to follow Jesus and my desire to glorify God with my life.
Questions to consider: Do the people around you see trustworthiness
in you as you go about your normal day?
Have you ever received a compliment from anyone around you concerning
your reliability or trustworthiness? Do
you live a trustworthy life, or do you let things slip, especially when you
think no one is looking?
Prayer: Father, please continue to work your character in
me and help me to be a man that can be trusted.
Help my words and actions to be reliable. Help me to be more like Jesus. Amen.
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