Acts 16.14 One who
heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple
goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention
to what was said by Paul. – St. Luke the physician
The more I read the Scripture, the Writings, the Living
Word, the more I find the most interesting jewels laying amid the vast
landscape of truth presented there. Today was one of those days.
It’s written here in Acts 19 that Lydia was a business
woman from Thyatira, an ancient city in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey); and a
worshiper of God. Lydia worshipped God but apparently she hadn’t received the
full story, and so God opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by
Paul. Hmmm… A worshiper of God without the whole story…sounds like a lot of
people I know.
Only surmising here, but I think Lydia had made up her
mind that there was a God and she wasn’t Him. I think her life journey led her
to a point where she’d heard much about God and so, in her own way, tried her
best to reach out to Him. I don’t think her thoughts about God were necessarily
faulty; I think more so, they were just incomplete. She apparently didn’t have
the whole picture.
And God knew that, and God saw that, and one day God
opened her heart to pay attention to Paul the apostle and the truth came
rushing in like a flood. She saw God in a new way. Her heart was thrilled. In
fact she was so thrilled to receive the whole story, that she urged herself upon
Paul and his companions: “If you have
judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she
prevailed upon us. (Luke 15) And as they say, there wudn’t no gettin’ away from Lydia.
Lydia wasn’t obnoxious, she was just overjoyed that someone took the time to talk with her
and connect all the dots. Her mind was cleared and the truth shone through. And
St. Luke said it was all God’s doing;
God opened her heart to pay attention. Do we know people like
Lydia? Do they ask a lot of questions in the small group and do they struggle
to figure it all out? You bet we do; they’re all over the place.
People have thoughts about God. They have dreams and
desires and heartaches and trouble and while they know there is a God (and He ain’t
them) they just don’t have a complete picture of Him. (Not that any of us
really do, but there are certainly some who may be ‘more connected’ than
others.)
What I really think happened to Lydia was the light came
on and the things about God that didn’t seem to make sense all of a sudden did.
She may have thought her life was just right the way it was, but the nagging inconsistencies
of life plagued her mind. And Paul showed up, and so did God.
I think this is a beautiful story of the Ownership of
God. I think we forget He owns us all: red, yellow, black and white – we are
all precious in His sight. God owned Lydia and made sure she could know a more
complete and better way to know Him – after all, ain’t that what it’s all about…?
Father, may we
always remember that there are Lydia’s among us who are craving to know more
about You. Use us to help them see more clearly and to be a part of what You
are doing in this world which You own – lock, stock, and barrel…
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