You Might Be Surprised

My husband and I keep a running list of movies we'd like to watch. If someone were to take a look at said list, they'd probably have little difficulty picking the movies he suggested versus the movies I contributed. Scott likes the action, the intrigue of unraveling a good mystery. For me, it's all about the story. Jason Bourne can leap from every building in Europe, but if there isn't a good backstory, I'm happy to work on my crossword. So, somewhere along the line, we established this ritual: he says, "What aren't we watching" when it's my turn to pick, I hold my ground, and he enjoys the film. Surprise! Sometimes the things we expect to be unpleasant are surprisingly enjoyable --even beneficial. As time has passed, though he refuses to relinquish the ritual, he's learned his wife knows a thing or two about good stories, and he doesn't hate handing over the reins quite so much 😉

In Acts 19:18-20, we find Paul in Ephesus. Some of those present, Jews and Greeks, had made earlier confessions of faith but had fallen away. In response to the extraordinary miracles performed through Paul by God, they were convicted of their lapse. They admitted publicly their sins, the evil things they'd done after their initial repentance, then they turned over the tools of their trade --magic books. Occultism was popular in Ephesus. Now, whether these folks had from their conversion determined to minister to these occultists and found themselves woefully unequipped, whether they lapsed back into old behaviors for lack of discipleship, or whether their belief in the power of God to heal and perform miracles morphed into some form of syncretism, I can't say, but here they were, publicly confessing and burning books full of incantations and demonic rituals. According to Testament Press's website, the value of these materials --50,000 drachmas --would have been the equivalent of 2.1 million USD today. They were willing to take a loss in the things of this world to gain the Kingdom of God.

And we're not talking about dollars and cents exclusively. Imagine the mother who'd been secretly engaging in these practices, searching for a miracle for her sick little boy. She'd give up her rituals, she'd relinquish her hope in them, she'd publicly confess her sin and reveal to her husband and family her backsliding ways. Or the mason. Maybe he'd lose customers, those who thought Christ was foolishness; maybe they'd think him the biggest fool and fraud ever. This was costly. Reputation. Favor. Friends. Material goods. 

But what was the result? Verse 20:

So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

The worst thing ever, right? Not at all! Whatever humiliation, whatever monetary loss, whatever broken relationships, whatever descent into anonymity --every last bit of it was worth it. The good news of Jesus Christ, the Gospel, grew mightily and prevailed. Read God's word through John in Revelation 2:1-6:

To the angel of the church of Ephesus write,

‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 

Did they have it all right? No, but they had persevered, they upheld truth and were intolerant of those who did evil. They had issues they needed to address: their passion for Christ had cooled. But they had been steadfast in other things and, as such, could be equally as steadfast in this. The "worst" they'd endured in the past had proven to grow the Kingdom; they had only to hold fast to that once again.

Is God calling you to do the unthinkable? the unpleasant? the seemingly impossible? Is He calling you to repair that relationship or publicly repent of your sin? Is He calling you to put your business on the line, your years-long friendship, your reputation, and take a stand for what is godly? Surprise! It just might be the best thing you could do. Are you willing to take a loss in the things of this world to gain the Kingdom of God? For the glory of God, you might be surprised at what He will do.