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Trials


Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message. At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (II Timothy 4:14-18)

Paul, who once carried legal documents to have Christians arrested and put to death, being arrested and put on trial as a Christian. If this were the Old Testament, you might expect Paul to end up being the right-hand man to the king (a la Joseph, Daniel, Mordecai and even Esther.) But it doesn’t work that way. Instead, he follows the pattern that Christ set, in which all the people he thought would speak on his behalf suddenly found themselves with pressing appointments elsewhere. God didn’t abandon Paul. He brought him through the bad situation. Like Joseph, Paul recognized that the legal trials he faced, and the trials that surrounded his courtroom appearances were gifts from God, allowing him to do good. In Paul’s case, the good was spreading the gospel. Those who wanted to do him harm were dangerous and Timothy needed to be wary of them. Those who were merely overwhelmed with their own fears were forgiven.
Jesus told us not to be surprised if the world hates us. Yes, He loved the world enough to die for us, but we shouldn’t be surprised if the world’s response is hatred. If it doesn’t hate us, we aren’t loving it right. This is part of the trouble we face today. We seem to mix up the idea of being loving with the idea of being lovable, or even likable. We seem to think that if we love, everyone will be comfortable around us, everyone will like us, everything will go our way. Jesus loved better than anyone, and He was martyred. Paul wrote a description of love is considered a classic, but he is hated and described as unloving. Our love does not guarantee that others will respond as they should. The more we love God, the more likely it is that those around us won’t love us unless they also love God. Even if they do love God, that doesn’t mean they’ll be there when we need them. If they aren’t, love forgives.

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