Who Do You Say I Am?

Who Do You Say I Am?

What if you are not the hero of your own story?

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” - William Shakespeare’s As You Like It. The bard may have a point. But we should recognize that our Playwright is one who does not err, and He takes casting very seriously. There are some that contend that demography is destiny, still, others believe that character leads us to our fate. Paul’s life is about to show, in no uncertain terms, that such notions as fate and destiny are the sole purview of our Heavenly Father. And as heroic as we believe Paul to be, to get the most out of our study we must insist on viewing the man as he viewed himself. As merely a pawn of God’s grand design. Paul did not have to contend with the ubiquity of the “American Dream” mindset that encourages every citizen to fulfill their dreams and view themselves as the center of their own dramatic rise-to-power tale. Nor did he have to grapple with the Texan pride found in the denizens of the Lone Star State. No, Paul was born a Roman citizen and was treated, by law, as superior to all others that resided within its massive reach. Moreover, he was one of God’s chosen people, selected throughout the millennia to be set apart only for Himself. Paul was also trained by the most learned scholars and, with incredible zeal, passionately followed, to the letter, every law expected by his people. And if a man in that position can humble himself, then we have no excuse not to.

To understand the extent of the change in Paul it is critical to remember his beginning. When we are first introduced to him early in the book of Acts, he was a man on a mission, but one concerned with rooting out followers of the Way. He describes it this way, “I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests, I put many of the Lord’s people in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.” (Acts 26:9-11) Saul in the beginning of Acts seemed more of a force of nature than a person. And like most of mankind’s endeavors, he was interested in conquest. To root out, destroy, eliminate, and silence all in opposition. But Paul, whom we see at the end of Acts, is an entirely different animal. He remains a man on a mission, but that mission is vastly different.

And as the focus of his mission changes, so do his methods, alongside his self-importance.

“But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” (Acts 9:15-16). We begin to see, here in these final chapters of Acts, Paul as just that, a “chosen instrument”. Till now, we’d seen Paul’s missionary journeys, always dedicated to God, but undertaken with sheer force of will. A relentless pursuit of one man to save multitudes traveling to any city near and far to spread the Gospel. But beginning in Acts 23, we get to see just what God is capable of accomplishing through a mere prisoner. In nearly every account of Paul’s missions, the locals that opposed the Gospel worked with the local political leadership to run Paul and his companions out of town. As a free man, he met with obstacle after obstacle from every official channel that existed. But now a captive in the Byzantine Roman prison system, Paul is shepherded in front of every leading official in the land, paraded from one to the other, and asked to do one thing, share his testimony.

What made Paul’s testimony so compelling is not that he was just one hum-dinger of a speaker. His words were given authenticity because he lived them. By living his testimony before it was requested, people were already inclined to listen to what he had to say. If we conduct ourselves in a way that is indistinguishable from the 8 billion other people shuffling along on this planet, then why on earth would anyone care what we had to say? Paul’s life set him apart because he devoted it to God, and this was incompatible with the way others around him lived. There were consequences for such a decision, but only earthly (meaning temporary) punishments. Paul knew that “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all” (Mark 9:35), “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” (Matthew 16:25), and even wrote, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58) Paul knew that whatever earthly punishment he faced could only be answered with Heavenly reward, and his faith was so complete that the tradeoff was made gladly! “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstance. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:11-13)

This selfless living and total devotion to God is what made those who were curious eager to hear Paul’s testimony. His attitude is available to us as well. And Paul’s attitude is easier and easier to see in these latter chapters. Whatever agency he spent his life utilizing he relinquished to the mob in Jerusalem. The remainder of Acts finds Paul buffeted by the winds of “fate”, being moved from location to location, escaping danger after danger, meeting dignitary after dignitary completely at the direction of God. And it is here that the larger point begins to be made clearer. Paul is introduced to Governors Felix and Festus brought before King Agrippa, carted around from Jerusalem to Caesarea, shipwrecked on Malta, and brought to Rome. But at every stop and in every instance he shares his testimony, his life story of how God rescued him. The circumstance, situation, location, surroundings, and company all changed around Paul; he had no hand in any of it. Here merely continued to obey his calling, to spread the Gospel.

So what is our excuse? Should the “time” be right? Do we need to go to the right place, with the right people, with the ideal circumstances before sharing our own story? No. Paul’s life proves there is no such thing as “the” appropriate time to share God’s movement in our lives because it is never inappropriate to. And if all the world's a stage, then our lives, our testimony, our story, is a script written for us by God Himself. You’ll find this inscribed on your very heart. Some have voiced concern or worry that they are incapable or lacking a sufficiently “moving” testimony. Never doubt what God has already given you. For as many people that are in our LifeGroup, there are just as many roads taken to join it. God placed us precisely where He wants us to be. And if we can accept that, are we to believe the rest of our lives consist of happenstance and accident? No. The tapestry of your life is specifically woven. Every tragedy, every success, every loss, and every surprise. Compiled, they create you, uniquely and specifically you. This means your journey to God (or more accurately His pursuit of you) is a wholly distinct and original story. One intended to be shared. We are merely players ‘strutting and fretting our hour upon the stage’ and we’ve been given our lines. The lights have been raised (Gen. 1:3), the “camera” is rolling (Prov. 15:3), and there’s only one word of command. ACTION!

Jordan Williamson