fear: the bright side

As we unravel, God is present. He invites us to let it all unravel and to see Him with new eyes. Meet a man who in his unraveling, stumbled onto new life. The guard in the following story is supposed to be watching over Paul and Silas. The text says he is sleeping. 

Paul and Silas are in jail because Paul in a fit of exasperation had exorcised a demon from a slave girl. The owner is peeved because this slave made him a nice profit by divination. A ruckus ensues and Paul and Silas are beaten and thrown in jail. The hilarity of this story cannot be missed. 

So here they are... in jail... at midnight singing...

Along about midnight, Paul and Silas were at prayer and singing a robust hymn to God. The other prisoners couldn't believe their ears. Then, without warning, a huge earthquake! The jailhouse tottered, every door flew open, all the prisoners were loose. Startled from sleep, the jailer saw all the doors swinging loose on their hinges. Assuming that all the prisoners had escaped, he pulled out his sword and was about to do himself in, figuring he was as good as dead anyway, when Paul stopped him: "Don't do that! We're all still here! Nobody's run away!" The jailer got a torch and ran inside. Badly shaken, he collapsed in front of Paul and Silas. He led them out of the jail and asked, "Sirs, what do I have to do to be saved, to really live?" They said, "Put your entire trust in the Master Jesus. Then you'll live as you were meant to live - and everyone in your house included!"

One second the guard is going to kill himself. The next he runs in amidst the rubble and asks, “What must I do to be saved?” One moment in fear of his superiors, he grabs the sword figuring he is as good as dead. The next, he escorts the prisoners out of the jail, invites them to his home, feeds them and binds their wounds. 

In a split second of explosive grace, his perspective is changed. This is crystal clear: the One Whom He Should Fear. The guard is unraveled and unbound.  

I love the fact that the jailer walked into the rubble with a lantern. Once he found Paul, Silas and the other prisoners still there but loose, he collapsed trembling. His question is beautiful: Sirs, what do I have to do to be saved, to really live? 

In the midst of fear and rubble, isn’t this our question? Can we drop the guises of control and independence and drop to our knees? Can we mutter in the thick of the dust: What must I do to really live?

The response so simple yet so difficult. Put your entire trust in Master Jesus. Then you’ll live as you were meant to live – and everyone in your house included. What would happen if I put my entire trust in Master Jesus? If I gave up my cynicism, self-righteousness, comfort food and rescuing; what would my life look like? I use things (addictions, idols) to mask my fear. What if I ran in breathless to the rubble and ruins and asked the question simple and clear?

One element is conspicuous: the jailer gets a glimpse of the eternal. Paul and Silas introduce him to Jesus. I need to see Jesus to know what to fear. If I fear Him, the other fears shrink like so much burning plastic. 

That’s when the party starts.

They never did get to bed that night. The jailer made them feel at home, dressed their wounds, and then - he couldn't wait till morning! - was baptized, he and everyone in his family. There in his home, he had food set out for a festive meal. It was a night to remember: He and his entire family had put their trust in God; everyone in the house was in on the celebration.

When we unravel, we get a set of new eyes. We can see - really see - what is crucial. And that is worth a celebration!