The news that Satan gave the barbarians was, “No doubt this man is a murderer.”
They believed it; they spoke it; they waited to see their conviction confirmed as Paul would fall down and die. But they were disappointed.
If we should assume that they had newspapers then, we would say that the early morning papers that day carried their impression of Paul. He made the headlines: “Saul the Murderer”; “The Hypocrite in Melita”; “Nemesis Catches Up with a Charlatan,” etc. Then those who heard them or read the news, believed it. Paul knew that they were wrong, but he did not (or could not?) defend himself. He owned no papers; he could buy no page to tell his side of the story. He trusted in his God and waited for his own day, which would surely come.
Ever faced such scandal and pain? False accusations and evil reports peddled about you, of which you were aware, but against which you seemed helpless, leaving matters entirely in the hands of the knowing God?
Imagine yourself, a preacher of righteousness, yet so much slander being carried about you, and many believing the lie, and you seeming like a hypocrite before all the people, yet, like a sheep dumb before his shearers, opening not your mouth!
By the evening of that day the headlines had changed: “A Guru in Melita”; “Saint Paul the Mystic”; “God in Human Flesh”; “God Visits Melita,” etc.
It does not matter how much scandal Satan has spread around about you, and how far. God shall change the headlines in your favour. Amen. The lie will thrive but a while, then Truth shall reign for evermore, triumphantly. The end, then, shall be greater than the beginning, for whereas Satan had meant to turn all the people against you, his proven failure and lie will turn all the people to you. To you they will come seeking help. After your God shall they also seek, that your God should be their God also, for none could have delivered after His sort. They will change their minds. The papers in the evening will carry a different report. The lie will have died, and the truth will live forever. The bad names they had given you shall have changed, overnight. Instead of “murderer” they will call you “god.” Whereas they had taken your misfortunes as confirmation of their doubts and suspicions about your integrity, your triumph will be proof of your righteousness, and it will establish you and furnish your new ship for the rest of the way. Amen.
YOU ARE READING
THE LAST CHAPTER of Your Life
SpiritualA book is remembered more often for how it ends than for how it starts. We are a book that God is writing. Often, the tricky devil, when he can no more stand the zeal of our early days, takes a break from the middle chapters of our life, waiting t...
