Acts 18:6
And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."
Paul was in Corinth staying with other tentmakers, a man and his wife, Aquilla and Priscilla. Each Sabbath day he would go to the synagogue and reason with the Jews about Jesus. But when they reviled and opposed him, he shook out his garments and said, Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles." Opposition had taught him to turn and flee. He had already endured stoning and imprisonment. It was time for him to go.
He went next door to the home of Titius Justus, a fellow worshiper. Here he learned it was not as bad as he thought. Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue and his household believed as did many other Corinthians. The Lord spoke to Paul in a vision one night, "Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people." And of course Paul stayed a year and a half teaching the word.
Paul's initial response was totally human, one that would have occurred to any of us in similar situations. When things get tough, or we meet repeated rejection in an area, we tend to run or quit. Even Paul who was so close to the Lord, had this response. But as soon as the Lord spoke to him, he obeyed. Like Paul, I may have human feelings or thoughts about a place, but what matters most is what God tells me to do. Many missionaries have encountered just such opposition, Adoniram Judson ministered his entire life, lost his wife, and still saw hardly any fruit for the Lord, or the sacrifice of Jim Elliot and his friends at the hands of the Auca Indians. And then later when the wives went back, they did become believers. What huge hearts they had for the Lord! Hearts that are willing to sacrifice all! So the success of a ministry is not the gauge of its success, instead it is if the Lord has commanded it.
Father,
Thank You for such a valuable lesson. Make my heart pure and strong so that I may follow Your lead. Help me not be so influenced by what others think.
In Jesus name,
Amen
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