Growing In Humility

GROWING IN HUMILITY

a prayer to open

Holy Spirit, come. Center my heart.

Fill my mind. Guide my steps.

Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people. He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.” Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women.

But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd. Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believers instead and took them before the city council. “Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world,” they shouted, “and now they are here disturbing our city, too. And Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.”

The people of the city, as well as the city council, were thrown into turmoil by these reports. So the officials forced Jason and the other believers to post bond, and then they released them.

That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.

But when some Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, they went there and stirred up trouble. The believers acted at once, sending Paul on to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind. Those escorting Paul went with him all the way to Athens; then they returned to Berea with instructions for Silas and Timothy to hurry and join him.

When Paul and Silas were released from prison in Philippi, they moved on to Thessalonica, the capital of Macedonia, to share the gospel. As usual, they started in the synagogue and were met with a mixture of acceptance and rejection, openness and resistance. Luke contrasted the people in the next city, Berea, with those in Thessalonica, calling them “more open-minded” (verse 11) because of their eagerness and willingness to examine the Scriptures. When confronted with new ideas, the humble hearted seek to understand, learn, and listen to what God might want to teach them.

• Read this passage again. What word or phrase stands out to you? Sit quietly, reminding yourself that you are in God’s loving presence, and ask him to show you how that word or phrase connects to your life.
• Is there any area of your faith in which you have doubts or lack clarity (Jesus’ divinity, sexual issues, conflict resolution, how to engage with an enemy, forgiveness)? Have you examined the Scriptures carefully on the topic or topics you identified? What do you sense God leading you to do to resolve this or learn more?
• What issues (political, social, economic, relational) do you have very strong views about? How would you rate your level of humility and eagerness to learn about other viewpoints on those particular issues? What is one way you could move toward humility on those issues?

Father, thank you for the gift of the Scriptures and for giving your followers a way to know you more. And thank you for Jesus, the ultimate model of humility and grace. Help me, by your Spirit, study Scripture to understand and learn in the areas about which I feel confused or uncertain. Guide me into humility to listen to viewpoints that contradict my own and to increase my love and understanding for others, whatever their viewpoints. Keep what is true clear for me in the process, and may I follow you with every part of my being. Amen.