A Letter of Accusation on the Bottom of the Sea Acts 28:17b-21 When they had assembled, Paul said to them: My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. They examined me and wanted to release me, because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death. But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to CaesarÑnot that I had any charge to bring against my own people. For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain. They replied, We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of the brothers who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you... Thoughts for Today: So what happened to the letter? Here was Paul prepared to defend himself to the leaders of the Jews in Rome, and they ask him, What letter, what accusations, what are you talking about? Could it be the letter went down with the ship when it wrecked on the island of Malta? Probably so. So what does it take to make people forget the accusations they have against you? A shipwreck? What does it take to make us forget about the accusations we have against others? Cancer? The death of a son or daughter in a car accident, or some other tragedy? Its always curious to me how quickly the jagged edges of our relationships are smoothed over when something more important (or life threatening) enters the picture. Questions to Ponder: Do we really need a shipwreck to sink our letters of accusation? Do we need tragedy or catastrophe to get things in the proper perspective? Do we really want to waste any more time? Is there someone in your life with whom you need to reconcile? The Lord gave His life for us, is it too much to ask to send your letter of accusations to the bottom of the sea?
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 14:24:58 +0000
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