Since second grade I had a kneecap problem. I was playing
football with my cousin Tom and after being tackled my kneecap dislocated.
Since then, at least twice a year my kneecap would dislocate. It was extremely
painful and multiple doctors didn’t have a fix for it. I was told just go to
physical therapy and I was fine. By the time high school came about, I
dislocated my knee cap on a Tuesday and Saturday I was able to hobble my way to
a 21:43 at cross country regionals. I dealt with the pain. Eventually I finally
got a knee doctor that was great and she suggested surgery. What was supposed
to be a surgery that would take me out from hockey for 3-6 weeks turned into a
9 month process. It ends up every time my knee dislocated, it put a crack on my
kneecap. The picture of my knee cap looked like it was a spider web but it was
cracks in my knee. It was a painful time, but I consider it nothing compared to
what Paul did for Jesus.
Paul gave his life up to Jesus. In Philippians, Paul talks
about what he has done to advance the message of Jesus. Philippians 1:12-14…
“Now I want you to know, brothers
and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the
gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and
to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most
of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the
more to proclaim the gospel without fear.”
Paul was in chains for the Gospel. He was living in his own
place but was chained to a solider/guard all the time. Yet, Paul still preached
the message of Jesus. People knew that Paul was chained and in prison for the
message of Jesus. Paul was not ashamed but rather was even more open to share
he was chained because of Jesus. This resulted in believers in Christ being
bold to share their faith for what Paul was doing while being jailed.
I
learned a lot about being faithful from a former voodoo doctor. I was in Haiti
on a mission trip and we met a guy who was a voodoo doctor. It was an extremely
wealthy position in an area that didn’t have much money. When he gave his life
up for Jesus, it was a life changing event. Not only was he giving his life to
Christ but he was giving up his only way of making money. He was shunned by the
community of voodoo believers, it left him struggling to live. But once he
heard the message of Jesus, he didn’t turn back. He would rather be
broke/starve then live under voodoo anymore. What we gain in Jesus can cost us
in other areas.
These
stories of Paul and the former voodoo aren’t to make us feel guilty. It should
make us bold to think that Jesus is worth following. It’s worth giving up
everything for, money, popularity and fame. We all go through painful moments
in life, this can make us appreciate what Jesus on the cross even more. Jesus
died for us. Paul and this former voodoo doctors understood this and were bold
in their decisions to follow and share Jesus. If we believe these stories are
true, we should be bold with sharing our faith, because Jesus dying on the
cross for our sins is more painful then my numerous knee dislocations. Jesus is
worth the cost.
Have a
great day.
