To be fully HUMAN — A Daily Reflection

 

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. "What are we going to do with these men?" they asked. "Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name."

 

The men of the Sanhedrin were a hard-headed lot.  They saw the change in Peter.  They saw that this common fisherman could stand boldly before them and proclaim the truth.  They saw that the beggar had been healed.  They admitted that there was nothing they could say to refute the situation.  But their minds were closed beyond that point.  They refused to listen to the important part.  They refused to acknowledge that they were wrong, and that Jesus - the very Jesus they had caused to be crucified – was the Messiah.  Their ears were shut and their hearts were closed off as tight as a drum.  There was no way Peter was going to get through to them.  He was casting pearls before swine.

 

Have you ever been in a situation like that?  I have.  I worked in an office where, not only was I the only Christian, everyone else there was involved in more evil practices than you can imagine.  Drugs, pornography, and witchcraft were among the long list of gross habits and hobbies and sidelines.  Every sentence that was spoken was generously peppered with profanity.  Every thought and opinion expressed was filled with perverseness and evil.  They knew I was a Christian.  They had found out my first day on the job when I refused an assignment my employer had given me because it went against everything Jesus stands for.  I had even offered to leave right then, setting the president of the company straight when he claimed to be my boss, telling him that he was merely my employer and that Jesus was my boss.  However, since he really needed my particular talents on staff, he asked me to stay on… so I did.  And I went through six months of the worst persecution I have ever experienced.  Every day, different employees would actually look for things they could do to try to upset me. As time went by, it became harder and harder to make myself go to work, knowing what I would face when I got there.  But I kept telling myself that these people needed the Lord (and they did!) and that I had to stay there and continue to witness to them.  Finally one day as I drove home, I had hit the end of my rope.  Eleven different incidents had happened in that one day, with the final one at 4:30 in the afternoon being so vile that I can’t describe it to you here.

 

That night I went home and prayed and began to search the scriptures, looking for guidance as to what to do.  And the Lord gave me several scriptures, including Matthew 10:14-16 (NIV) - "If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.  I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."  That meant, separate myself from them… shake the dust off my feet in repudiation of their rejection of the message of Jesus Christ… turn my back because of their pointed rejection of the gospel.  That was not an easy thing for me to accept or to obey.  On the practical side, I needed that job.  I needed the income.  On the spiritual side, I had a hard time with the concept of not continuing to witness to those people.  But I did obey, and I did leave.  Because it was not me who would bring those people to Jesus - if they should ever come to Him.  It was Holy Spirit.  I had done all I was supposed to do.

 

If you find yourself in that same type of situation, pray for discernment and wisdom.  And remember…. your job is only to plant the seed.  The Holy Spirit is the one who will water it and make it grow.