Battered but Laboring On
“And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.” -Acts 14:19-20
Acts 14:19-22
I really love today’s passage, but I have to say it convicts me all over every time I come to it. I happen to be writing this on a Monday night. Mondays are one of our busier days at the clinic where I work in the front office. And, by the time I worked all day, came home and ran, fixed supper, cleaned my kitchen, and did a few odd tasks that needed doing, I wanted to call it a day and spend the rest of the evening loafing on my couch with a good book and then go to bed early. It took a ridiculous amount of effort to make myself get off the couch, come into my office, and start working.
Yet, in our text for today, Paul, after being stoned to the point that they drag him out of the city thinking he’s dead, gets up and leaves the very next day to go spread the gospel somewhere else. The very next day. I would venture to say anyone living today would spend at least one night in the hospital (probably a couple of days) and then several days resting and recuperating with someone waiting on him or her hand and foot. Not Paul. He was ready to go the next day. No doubt, he was sore all over, and he had to be exhausted. But, that’s how important his ministry was to him. He refused to let anything hinder it. That’s impressive enough on its own. But then, the final verses of our passage reveal that Paul later returns to Lystra, which was were the stoning took place, and to Iconium and Antioch, which were the cities the Jews who came and convinced the people to stone Paul were from. Without regard for the personal risks to himself and his well-being, he returns because the disciples there needed encouragement he could give. If that’s not standing strong, I don’t know what is.
Our world today desperately needs more men and women like Paul. Men and women who will stand strong and keep laboring on even when life has left them battered and worn. Men and women who will minister even in places where they’ve been hurt in the past and to people who have hurt them. Men and women who put their work for the Lord above all else.
Stand strong even when you’re battered and worn.
justsamjw 