Acts 21:1 After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Kos. The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara.
Have you noticed that there are some people that you just love to be around? And there are some people that are just not that pleasant to be around! Some of this has to do with personalities and preferences. I personally don’t like to be around people who have had too much to drink. Liquid Stupid!
We recently spent time with family in Pennsylvania. What a sweet time of fellowship and reminiscing. Oh, the stories that were told, the laughter that was embraced, and the tears, both of joy and sadness. It was hard to return home again.
Sometimes when we get together with friends, you just can’t seem to get people out the door. We just want to continue to talk and share, weaving threads of each other’s lives into our own. But the night must come to an end and so the scissors come out and we cut the conversations to be rejoined on another day.
It seems as though Paul had one of those times with the Elders of the church in Ephesus. Paul had informed them that he was going to Jerusalem and that this might be the last time that they saw each other. The ministry of Paul had changed their lives and the trajectory of that city.
All strata of the city had been touched by the liberating message of Jesus and the resurrection. Jews and Gentiles, city officials and common people. All had been affected by the radical change Jesus had brought as they believed Paul’s message and saw the power of God at work in people’s lives. Change had come and Paul was central to the delivery of that message.
Listen to the words of our text again. “After we had torn ourselves away from them…” You can hear the depth of connection they were experiencing. I can hear the tears, can you?
A friend of mine has “stages of saying goodbye” that he often talks about as we are trying to leave a social gathering. It starts with the first, “I guess we had better go” and ends with the cars moving down the road. I often feel like we are being torn apart in those moments.
Paul and his companions had made a positive impact on their community. Are we?
There are some moments when I say, “Boy I am glad they finally left,” when someone leaves. They seemed to have been the proverbial “fly in the ointment.” As evidence of this drag, as soon as they leave, the whole place lightens up. Conversations seem to flourish and smiles appear.
We only have a limited time here in this life. Are we spreading the light of the Gospel, a fragrance that attracts those seeking life? I think too often we get distracted from our primary role in life as bearers of the Good News. We become laborers and workers, consumers and suppliers, teachers and sales representatives.
What a shame that we miss out on what will truly bring life and joy and hope to those around us. Only the Gospel, talked and lived, accepted and acted upon, can bring this kind of permanent change. All our other endeavors will fade into the dustbin of history, forgotten and unimportant, temporary and dust.
The Gospel gives us hope both for now and for eternity. It is the one thing for which it is worth spending our life. And when we are torn from this life and ushered into eternity, there won’t be bits of this life clenched in our fists. We will freely and joyfully release this life in favor of Life.
The Arnold Journey 