This is my final reflection on the Book of Acts. I felt led to read this New Testament book on the beginnings of the Christian church, given the current state of the “new beginnings” of the church of the 21st century. We are trying to emerge from a pandemic that has shaken and transformed the world in ways we never imagined. We are witnessing the invasion and destruction of the nation of Ukraine. Watching helplessly as we see its people become exiles by the millions. The wars that are not covered by Western media are many, and countless lives have been lost. Add to these current horrors, terrorism, economic instability, and burgeoning crime in our cities, and we have a perfect storm, the birth pangs of the end times.
I felt led to study the Book of Acts because it has much to teach God’s people about this new “church age” in which we live. The Book of Acts ends with an invitation. Will we have eyes to see and ears to hear?
Acts Chapter 28 “GRACE is Not Karma”
Vs. 2-6 “The native peopleshowed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold. When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, ‘No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.’ He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.”
We call it karma or the universe, the belief that we humans get what we deserve.
Hence, we are always trying to “earn” the good things we receive in life. We humans also believe deep down that we are “punished,” that bad things happen to us, because we’ve done something bad, or because we are intrinsically bad.
We comfort ourselves with this belief system because this is one of the ways we humans try to make sense of the world. This is how we try to control the outcomes in our lives.
Even as Christians, we associate good fortune, wealth, and material possessions with blessings and God’s favor. We want to believe that we can somehow “earn” God’s blessings by our good behavior. And when life sends us painful moments, we believe God is punishing us. All of those negative messages we received about our unworthiness come flooding back into our psyche, and we see our situation as God’s punishment.
The people of Malta reflect our human belief that justice or fairness dictates how life treats us. But the biblical story of Job, and the countless stories we see and live every day reveal to us, that good impacts us all, and so does evil.
Life is not as simple as we would like it to be. There are no easy equations to help us make life more predictable.
This fallen world quickly reveals to us, that at times, through no fault of our own, we develop diseases, or become involved in accidents, or war, or famine, or natural disaster…
Bad things happen to good people.
Bad things happen to God’s people.
Yes, we do face the consequences of our sin. We face the consequences of the negative ways we treat others and ourselves.
Yet, out of the ashes of our sin, Grace arises.
Christianity turns the concept of cause and effect on its head.
Christianity tells us that God’s unmerited favor, His Grace, trumps all the good we can do.
And God’s Mercy crushes the eternal impact of our sin. We may face the consequences of our sin in the natural realm, but when we ask for God’s mercy and forgiveness, our souls and spirits have been freed from the law of sin and death.
We are saved by Faith in Jesus’ Atoning Work on the Cross. A faith we received through Grace.
God’s Grace.
The Grace that God extends to all. Over and over and over.
When we finally gab hold of God’s free gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus, we are moved with gratitude that His Grace has touched us.
And we wonder why it took us so long.
God is always extending Grace. God is always reaching out to us.
“He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rains on the just and the unjust.” Matthew 5: 45b
God extends His Grace, but His Grace is Not to be treated lightly.
“If today you hear His Voice, harden not your heart as they did in the rebellion.” Heb. 3:15
God gives, and we have a choice whether to receive.
The consequences are eternal.
The people who encountered Paul judged him by what they saw. Something we all do. Initially, they supposed he was an evil person who was getting his just due. And within a few minutes, they imagined he was a god because he survived the serpent’s bite.
This situation illustrates not who Paul is, it reveals who Paul’s God is.
Every situation is an opportunity to see God at work. An opportunity to respond to His offer of Grace and Mercy.
The Lord is always speaking to us. Are we willing to hear His Voice?
Acts 28: 26-27 “‘Go to this people, and say,
‘You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.
For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and with their ears they can barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed;
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and turn, and I would HEAL them.’”
