An Oxymoron?

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” – Acts 9:15-16

An oxymoron is defined as a combination of words that seem to contradict one another. Some examples are: jumbo shrimp, act naturally, civil war, random order and one of my favorites, a rolling stop. In Acts we discover what many might consider an oxymoron.

Here, God is speaking to Ananias and telling him, that out of all the people in the world, he has chosen Paul to carry the good news of the gospel to the people of Israel, the Gentiles and their kings. This sounds like quite an important calling for Paul. From a humanly perspective, we would expect that Paul, being the chosen one of God, would be in store for a long list of rewards from the Lord; maybe good health, wealth, protection, safe travels, a welcoming spirit in the cities that he visits, after all Paul is leaving behind everything to do God’s will. But this dream of a problem-free life for Paul is shattered in the very next verse when God says to Ananias, “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

I don’t know about you, but to me that doesn’t sound like the best strategy to get someone on board with your plan. First, I would show them how their participation in my plan would benefit them and then talk about the problems later. But God doesn’t work in this way. He understands that to do his will means that there will be suffering along the way and as we know, from the rest of the story, Paul did encounter much suffering in his missionary work.

To many, this scripture might sound like an oxymoron, but to those who know God, it is truth. When we pick up our cross and follow him, we must realize that following him does not guarantee a life free of trouble. We will encounter suffering as we walk in the footsteps of Jesus. After all, Jesus walked the path to Calvary.

Prayer: Thank you Lord that you have chosen me to be a part of your plan. I know that following your ways provides me with blessings, but also brings me down the path of suffering. Help me Lord, walk in the footsteps of Jesus with abiding faith. Amen.

Faith Tip: Reflect on the sufferings of Christ today. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and yet even he did not have a problem-free life. In fact, in order to follow God’s will, he had to suffer, so that you could have eternal life!

Written by Pastor Aaron Anderson