Acts 24 :: weeds in the concrete

Acts 24 in the Message and TNIV translations

By the end of this chapter, Paul is in prison for two years.  Ironically it may be the safest place for him.  He's apparently stuck between a rock (Jews who want to kill him) and a hard place (in the custody of Roman authorities).  It's one of those places where we think nothing good can happen, where we wonder why God is letting us get stuck there.  We're wasting valuable time.  If we could just get out of this hole, then we could make some progress.

But Paul makes plenty of progress right where he is.  It just so happens that the governor's wife was interested in hearing about Jesus.  So Felix -- who is holding Paul in custody -- comes regularly with his wife to listen to Paul tell them about Christ.  Who knows what the implications of that were?  History tells us that as time passed, more and more people in positions of great influence became followers of Christ.  I wonder how many of them were led to Christ by their servants, their prisoners, or their slaves?

Since he couldn't personally visit the churches he has helped plant, Paul began writing letters to them from prison and sending them via messenger.  These letters were copied, handed out and read publicly among the churches.  Over a period of 100-150 years, they came to be recognized among Christians as divinely inspired and were eventually included in the New Testament.  He wrote 11 (if my math is correct) books of our New Testament between chapters 13 and 28 in Acts.  I'd call that productive.

Sometimes God calls us to be the weed that grows through the concrete.  In the most barren conditions, God can bring life.  None of us would choose to be there, but it certainly doesn't mean God is through with us if we find ourselves there.  In fact, it may mean that God is just getting ready to do His best stuff.