Jer. 6, 11-12
In its simplest form, all of God’s law boils down to two things – love God and love others. God declares through Jeremiah, as with the other prophets, that His people are doing neither. In Jeremiah 6:10, it says, “the word of the LORD is to them an object of scorn.” And in verse 13 it says, “For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.” God had Jeremiah remind them of their covenant with God, where both the blessings of keeping the covenant and the curses for breaking it were spelled out. But, in spite of persistent warnings, “everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart” (Jer 11:8a). And so their judgment came.
Instead of being repentant when confronted with their disobedience through the prophets, the people got angry with the prophets. We see it over and over again, even with Jesus. Their proud hearts were so set against the truth that they sought to kill anyone who tried to make them face it, thus adding to their guilt. We can learn from their errors and be diligent in searching our own hearts for any pride that stands in the way of hearing and accepting truth. And we can also learn from Jeremiah’s response. He was content to trust his life to God and wait for God’s vengeance on those who sought to kill him. “But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously, who tests the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause.” (Jer 11:20).
Acts 27:27-44
I still don’t know if the centurion gave his heart to God, but I am hopeful for him. I can see in this passage that his attitude changed. Where he refused to listen to Paul before, here he trusts Paul completely, even to the point of letting the ship’s boat, which could have carried some of them safely to shore, go. And he overruled the soldiers’ plan to kill the prisoners because he wanted to save Paul. It was Paul’s confident trust in God and God’s faithfulness in acting according to the word He gave Paul that laid the path for this shift in the centurion.
As for Paul, he was just doing what he always did – he was boldly living his life for God. Paul truly did not care if he lived or died, for he saw gain in either outcome. This freed him up to trust God without fear, depending fully on Him and giving Him the glory always. This gives me something to aspire to. Don’t get me wrong – I want my life to be like Christ. His is the only life that matters, and I’m pretty confident that Paul would agree. But if Paul, who was just a man, and not God like Christ was, can reach a point of being totally content in God’s hands, then so can I. I, too, can go forth and live my life as a bold witness for God.