“Three days after
arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, where the
chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the
charges against Paul. They requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul
transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along
the way. Festus answered, ‘Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am
going there soon. Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has
done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.’” (Acts 25:1–5 NIV)
This thing going on
with Paul and the Jews and the Roman court system would have hardly been a blip
on the radar screen of anyone. We must discard any assumption we have that this
story was somehow newsworthy. Looking back from the twenty-first century, the
whole thing unfolds before us as a stunning God-sized story of cosmic
proportions. At the time, who even knew it was happening, and of those who
knew, who really cared?
Looking back, the
only reason we even know the names of Felix and Festus and half a dozen other
bit players of history is Paul -- that's why we know them. History has its way,
doesn't it? That's how history happens. It often takes the perspective of years
to see what really mattered and what didn't. At the time it's impossible to
know.
Remember that when
you think about what you are doing today with your life. In the present, it can
seem oh so small and insignificant. I think that's what Jesus was trying to get
across [in Matthew 13:31-32] when He talked to us about the mustard seed
becoming the largest tree in the garden. Be encouraged, Christian! Don't give
up! Give yourself to what may seem small today. It's worth it. It matters. You
matter. Press on. Invest your resources in what many may consider a kingdom of
God longshot. Every big story was once a very small story. It's why I spend so
much time talking about seeds. The whole story is in the single seed.
C. T. Studd put it
well in the refrain from his famous poem, "Only one life, twill soon be
past, only what's done for Christ will last."
-- Excerpted from “Wake-Up Call” with J. D. Walt
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