Good from evil!

 Act 13:44-52

44 When the next Sabbath came around, practically the whole city showed up to hear the Word of God. 45 Some of the Jews, seeing the crowds, went wild with jealousy and tore into Paul, contradicting everything he was saying, making an ugly scene.

46 But Paul and Barnabas didn't back down. Standing their ground they said, "It was required that God's Word be spoken first of all to you, the Jews. But seeing that you want no part of it-- you've made it quite clear that you have no taste or inclination for eternal life-- the door is open to all the outsiders. And we're turning now to the outsiders 47 following orders, doing what God commanded when he said, I've set you up as light to all nations. You'll proclaim salvation to the four winds and seven seas!"

48 When the non-Jewish outsiders heard this, they could hardly believe their good fortune. All who were marked out for real life put their trust in God; they honored God's Word by receiving that life. 49 And this Message of salvation spread like wildfire all through the region.

50 Some of the Jews convinced the most respected women and leading men of the town that their precious way of life was about to be destroyed. Alarmed, they turned on Paul and Barnabas and forced them to leave. 51 Paul and Barnabas shrugged their shoulders and went on to the next town, Iconium, 52 brimming with joy and the Holy Spirit, two happy disciples.

Food for thought!

God is wonderful and incomprehensible in His ways. He can use any, I repeat any situation to fulfill His divine plans. Sometimes He uses what for us looks evil and mishap to realize His plans. He did it with His own Son, on and by the cross; and He uses it with His sons and daughters. Yes, some of those bad things that happen to you are meant for good of you.

In today's first reading, we have good coming out of bad. Until now Paul and Barnabas have been preaching mainly to their brothers, the Jews. But at some point, the Jews turned on Paul and Barnabas and forced them to leave their territory. Paul and Barnabas understood the writing on the wall; they interpreted the signs of the times; they connected the dots; they got the message coming out of the jealousy and persecution of the Jews, and declared, "we're turning now to the outsiders following orders, doing what God commanded when he said, I've set you up as light to all nations. You'll proclaim salvation to the four winds and seven seas!"

What Paul and Barnabas did was to look at the whole event through the eyes of faith, and when they did, they saw a hand of God in the persecution. From now onwards, Paul and Barnabas will dedicate themselves solely for non-Jews. This is how and why Paul became the apostle of the gentiles (non-Jews).

I invite you to do the same. Next time you have a crises, a problem, look at it as through the eyes of faith and you will see that behind your crisis, behind your problem, behind your misfortune, there's a blessing, an opportunity. Every problem is a disguised opportunity; "crisis" in its original meaning means chance.

God will use anything to get his message across. After failing to convince and move you through peaceful means, God will resort to force. Like Paul and Barnabas, many of us do hear and heed only by crises.