At this point Festus interrupted Paul's defense. "You are out of your mind, Paul!" he shouted. "Your great learning is driving you insane."
"I am not insane, most excellent Festus," Paul replied. "What I am saying is true and reasonable. The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do."
Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?"
Paul replied, "Short time or long—I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains." - Acts 26:24-29
Have you ever been accused of being crazy? Ya know, like insane?
Lighten up, everybody probably has.
What an honor to be in the company of greatness. After all, St. Paul was accused of being insane and out of his mind in today's Bible verses. Just like Ezekiel and Isaiah the prophets. Hey, just like Jesus himself.
It's been said that those who are accused of being mentally ill have an advantage over everyone else in that the accused know the truth, namely, that we're all crazy.
Such is the life of a Christian.
We wish that everyone was crazy.
I mean, isn't that what Paul said? He's accused of being crazy. And after initially denying it, Paul replied, "Short time or long—I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains." (Acts 26:29)
He's saying, "If I'm crazy, then, oooooh, may all of us become so."
So what does Paul show us is so crazy about a Christian? Three things.
1 - Unlike unbelievers, we Christians are crazy because we don't just stand in awe of creation and creations (like a tall building), we stand in awe of the Creator God. From the vastness of the universe to the detail of a flower we see God's handiwork and fingerprints everywhere. And we know through Jesus, through whom all things were made (John 1:3) that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we're a part of both the awesome creation and also The One who created it. In Acts 26:13-14, Paul said he saw "a light from heaven, brighter than the sun" and the voice of the Lord God sending him to witness to God in Christ. Awesome!
2 - Unlike unbelievers, we Christians are crazy because we believe that God raised Jesus from the dead and at the last will raise us up too, either to everlasting joy or torment, depending on where we've placed our trust. In Acts 26:8, Paul said, "Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?" I guess, Paul, it's because they think we're crazy! Hallelujah!
3 - And finally, we Christians are crazy because we speak of and act on these awesome things of God not because we'll get anything more out of it but because we want other people to get what they're missing apart from this crazy faith. Because Jesus died that we might live, Paul, like all of us deeply believing crazy Christians, was willing to die so that others might live. Of course, it takes no faith to see that once you start living for others in this way, then you actually get your life back. Living for God and others is The Way to abundant and everlasting life. I love the quote by Malcolm S. Forbes, "You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them." St. Paul stuck his neck out for people who could add nothing to his life. To the contrary, they wanted to kill him. But Paul, like all us crazy Christians, was willing to die so that others might live.
So in sum, Paul replied, "Short time or long—I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains." (Acts 26:29)
And what was he? CRAZY!
Praise God!!!
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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