Just the Way It Is

02.17.13

Acts 24.14-15 14 But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, 15 having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. (ESV)

That's just the way it is some things will never change. That's just the way it is – Bruce Hornsby

Paul had been unjustly accused and as a result wound up in Caesarea as a prisoner in the jail of the provincial ruler: a Roman bureaucrat named Felix. Of course the Jews found Paul to be a nuisance because he preached Jesus as Lord (Messiah) and that really made them mad. Jesus preached the Kingdom of God and they just couldn’t handle that because it got in the way of their kingdom…

And so, accused and imprisoned Paul had to listen to the accusations of the Jews as they reviled him before this bureaucrat. And when he got his turn to speak, Paul said: I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. He agreed in principle with the Jews although in practice he held his ground as a disciple of Christ.

Paul believed the Old Testament: it was all he knew; but Paul, through his relationship with Jesus, understood the Old Testament in the light of true faith, and that is what set him apart. Paul understood faith by grace – a concept foreign to the Jewish mind which was all about obedience to (their version of) the Law. It’s one thing to know the Law, it’s another to understand what God meant by it.

I don’t want to live my life with religion and rules – I want to live my life in faith by grace. And because Paul stood his ground by faith, so must I. Religion makes people feel like they have contributed something as if their contribution somehow helps God. All I can do is learn to love God and love people accordingly. What people don’t need is rules and rituals – what people need is the freedom to know God loves them and they matter to Him immensely.

That’s why Paul went on to say: So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man. He didn’t want his words to be at odd with his actions and he wanted his actions to represent the truth: God is gracious and kind to man and desires man to be with Him, heart, soul, mind, and strength. That’s the way I want to live too. The purpose of God is for us to know Him, love Him, and trust Him – there’s nothing we can add to the equation except to just show up: that’s just the way it is – that thing will never change. That’s just the way it is…

Lord, today I am trusting in You – that’s just the way it is…amen.