*Taken from my journal on 02/03/09 after visiting Caesarea Maritima, where Paul was tried by Herod and kept under house arrest for years. From this place, he was finally sent to Rome.*
The exchange recorded between Paul, King Agrippa and Festus at the end of the book of Acts is quite remarkable. Standing before these high-ranking leaders in chains, Paul is less concerned with preserving his own life than with sharing the gospel with these men and with the Romans. To imagine him raising his chained hands, saying “I wish you were just as I am, except for these,” is incredibly moving.
Few things in life are as frustrating as being accused for a crime you did not commit. So how do we respond? When treated wrongly by others, do we become embittered and wish evil on them? Do we become apathetic and lose all concern for them? Or do we, like Paul, retain our love for them and wish that they would come into a saving relationship with Christ? Even if they respond like Agrippa, do we want more for them than that?
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