The Truth is Pesky

02.17.12

Acts 24.5 5 For we have found this man a real pest and a fellow who stirs up dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. NASB

A pest, Tertullus, that’s the best you can come up with!? Advice to elders: never have an attorney say for you what you ought to say for yourself. Of course Paul was a pest: he was testifying to the truth and the truth was messing up their scam. But the truth always messes up the scams: that’s what the truth is for. What’s at issue in this account is not Paul, not the Jews, not Felix, not even Israel or Rome: it was relationship between the Creator and His creation. And the best Tertullus could come up with was that it was a nuisance. Sheesh, what a dolt!

The Jews claimed faith in Christ to be too easy – they held that man had to impress God by working hard – following the Law – to garner God’s favor. The Romans didn’t like much of anything the Jews came up with and this whole Jesus thing was total foolishness to them. To impress their gods, they had to be smart enough to figure them out and once they did, then appeasing them was easy… just throw in a human sacrifice once in a while to make sure all the bases were covered.

Yes, Tertullus, Paul was indeed a pest because the truth is pesky. And man tries to work hard and figure God out so he can stay ahead of the game. But the truth is God desires so much more from His creatures than mind games. We don’t like mind games in relationships – God doesn’t either.

If my faith in Jesus Christ isn’t rubbing someone the wrong way, then it’s not working. The message of God, the message of Christ, and all of redemption is divinely designed to rub men the wrong way; it is designed to get them to do something. When your foot itches, you tend to scratch it. When our conscience itches, we tend to ignore it. The truth is designed to wear down our denial of God until we do something about Him: either accept Him, or reject Him.

I am called by God to be a pest. In our nation today the government has decided that some religions are pesky and need to be controlled – sigh – same old story. As God’s children we are called to be pesky by walking in love with Him and doing what He instructs us to do. We are to take our marching orders from the Almighty; not the Department of Health and Human Services. Here’s a human service for you: go to church this weekend and participate with all of your heart. Read your Bible this week and every week following and set your mind to do what the Spirit directs. Strengthen yourself in that pesky Christian worldview.

Do this until your “freedom” to do so is taken away by the scammers and then begin to secretly meet in homes and empty warehouses; and in the woods and in caves because you’d rather be a pest and rub folks the wrong way, than perish in cowardliness and unbelief. Yes Tertullus, Paul was a pest; and he gave his life for the planet because God told him to, and he didn’t listen to lawyers …