I was driving home today when I suddenly thought I had forgotten my laptop at school. If only for a second, I panicked, thinking I would not be able to plan for classes coming next week. At the same time that I felt this, however, I also remembered something from the Bible I had read earlier this week. In Acts 16, one of the most important spokespeople for Jesus was a man named Paul. In this chapter, Paul was put in prison after ordering a spirit to leave a slave who earned money for her owners by telling the future.
In the night, however, God caused the doors of Paul's prison to open. At that moment, when the jailer woke to see the cell doors open, he drew his sword to commit suicide, thinking he had allowed the prisoners to escape. Paul, however, yelled at him not to harm himself, saying that everyone was still in their cells. The man rushed in, trembling and asking what he must do to be saved. Paul then shared the gospel, and the man and his family eventually believed.
While in my own moment of panic, I thought of the jailer at the moment he drew his sword to commit suicide. When compared with what this man was facing-- possible execution at having lost his prisoners-- my own concerns about forgetting my laptop seemed silly. Life is too fleeting to allow worry to control us. Life itself is a miracle, something I often take for granted. We are more than our jobs, more than our fears, more than our talents or pleasures or selfish acts. Our lives, without those things, matter enough to stop and breathe when we begin to worry about the little things. Life is certainly more important than a missing laptop, which was in my trunk, anyway.
In the night, however, God caused the doors of Paul's prison to open. At that moment, when the jailer woke to see the cell doors open, he drew his sword to commit suicide, thinking he had allowed the prisoners to escape. Paul, however, yelled at him not to harm himself, saying that everyone was still in their cells. The man rushed in, trembling and asking what he must do to be saved. Paul then shared the gospel, and the man and his family eventually believed.
While in my own moment of panic, I thought of the jailer at the moment he drew his sword to commit suicide. When compared with what this man was facing-- possible execution at having lost his prisoners-- my own concerns about forgetting my laptop seemed silly. Life is too fleeting to allow worry to control us. Life itself is a miracle, something I often take for granted. We are more than our jobs, more than our fears, more than our talents or pleasures or selfish acts. Our lives, without those things, matter enough to stop and breathe when we begin to worry about the little things. Life is certainly more important than a missing laptop, which was in my trunk, anyway.
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