Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Devotion - Tuesday, August 24

The story of Gamaliel should be known by every Christian. He is noted as the teacher of Paul. We cannot know the aspects of Paul’s emerging theology which have their roots in what he learned from this teacher.

The other appearance of Gamaliel is in Acts 5, when the apostles are brought before the Council. There are many on the Council who wish to put them to death. Gamaliel delivers a speech in which he says, “Keep away from these men and let them alone; for if (their message) is of God, you will not be able to overthrown them.”

Two thoughts arise from his words which I would like to explore this morning. First, there is no way to stop that which is of God. In the Lord’s Prayer we pray, “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We acknowledge that God’s will will be done; we pray that it might also be done through us. At so many points in our life we have the opportunity to either do that which is in keeping with the will and hope of God or to turn away. God’s will will be done; let us pray and act in such a way as to see it is done through us.

Second is Gamaliel’s sense of time. Accepting that he might have delivered this speech somewhere around 40 a.d., it is another 150 years before one could say with confidence that this new way is unstoppable. Gamaliel, and all those who heard his words, were long dead by then. We all too often lack the ability to see beyond the number of our own days. We do not share Gamaliel’s patience. God’s will will be done, even if it isn’t done in our lifetime. Like Gamaliel, we set a tone of patience, allowing the will of God the opportunity to continue to work its way into actualization.

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