Agents of Hope

Read Acts 27:27-44

In the passage right before this, we see Paul is being transferred as a prisoner to Rome. We continue in this section to see a very narrative passage which seems to just give us a very Luke-like detailed account of what happened. However, we must understand that we can see ways that God is calling us to be like Paul in situations where we are among non-Christians (his fellow prisoners as well as the sailors and soldiers transferring them) but need to be such a witness to them. Paul exercises great leadership skills given from God. I was reading Ajith Fernando’s commentary on this passage and he says, “God called Paul to find significant things about leadership in what we might call “secular” situations, which are the situations in which Christians find themselves most often. Paul was an agent of hope, a wise person, one who had an attitude of servanthood, and one whose testimony was clear and appropriate.”

We can find ourselves very often in the secular world. We have the opportunity to be agents of hope and rays of light for the people living in times where miserable situations overwhelm them. Without a trust in God, we also could be caught in this, but since we know God is sovereign and trust in His faithfulness, we can exercise a peace that comes from above. With this type of attitude and living, people around us desire to understand what is different about us. This gives the opportunity for us to share about the God we believe in. In today’s society, Christians are often shown as religious people who are nice people but don’t really know much about what is happening in the world (which may be true about some of us). Therefore, since Christians are like this, they are of little use in emergencies, for they lack the wisdom needed. Paul did not fit into this stereotype, nor did Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Daniel and many other people from the Old Testament.
Ajith again states, “we are challenged to be alert to what is happening in the world and to seek wisdom on the best ways to live and work in this world. While some may be gifted with more wisdom than others, this is essentially something we acquire through alert observation, through conversations with people active in fields different from ours, through reading periodicals and books, through viewing programs that give us information about the world around us, and through involvement in the affairs of the societies and nations in which we live.”

So in other words, we have to really know this world and understand it so that we can be able to be wise in this world. Not to be conformed and sucked into the patterns of this world, but because we then are able to see the ways that God gives us wisdom to show that Christians are well-thought out, responsible people that are such a great witness to the God that we believe and serve. Are you being such a witness now in the ways you know what is going on around the world? How would you do in trusting in God’s faithful during hard times? Are you an agent of hope to this world?

PRAYER CALENDAR
Tuesday: Pray for your family
Thank God for your family.