Brothers,
Do our actions match our words? Do we walk the walk, or do we simply talk the talk? We see an amazing story in today’s passage where the giants of the early church walk the walk.
As you probably know, the Apostle Paul had been Saul, a persecutor of Christians, when he was blinded on the road to Damascus. He met the risen Christ, was transformed, and went on to become the man who we generally hold most responsible for spreading the Gospel to the Gentiles. He also remained humble and focused on the great value of God’s Word. Before the passage we read today, and a few years after his Damascus conversion, Paul spent fifteen days in Jerusalem with the Apostle Peter and James, the brother of Jesus. He was there on an investigative meeting to make sure he had the correct message. He understood the value of God’s Word and wanted to make sure he got it right.
A decade later, Paul returned to Jerusalem, and that is where we pick up with today’s passage. This time, he meets with Peter and James again, but also with the Apostle John. Try to put this meeting in context. There were no phones, no email, no texting. Travel was difficult. Yet, Paul knew getting The Word correct was more important than his personal comfort or dealing with any obstacles he might encounter. That is why he left for Jerusalem again. His own words reveal the humility and urgency of one who walked the walk: “I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain.”
We see in verse 6 that all of the early leaders of the church had been careful to get The Word correct. For example, Paul notes that, “they added nothing to my message.” In other words, they had been preaching the same message all along.
Let us pray that our actions also reveal the great value we hold in God’s Word.
Your Brothers in Christ,
Guywire Ministry
Copyright 2020
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