Thursday, January 30, 2014

The Value of Things

It took a certain kind of faith to remain active friends with Paul after he was in chains.  The individual would have to have confidence that God's will would be accomplished in his own life, and not only Paul's.  It was not unusual for a friend of a prisoner to become himself incarcerated out of suspicion based on friendship alone (2 Timothy 1:15-18).

The author of the book of Hebrews writes, "You had compassion on me in my chains and joyfully  accepted the plundering if your goods, knowing that you have a better and more enduring possession for yourself in heaven" (Hebrews 10:34).  Either his friends sold their goods in order to financially support the prisoner, or the Romans plundered their possessions because of their association with a Roman prisoner.

Either way, to be a true friend may be costly in earthly treasures, but what are things compared to the compassion and love of God?  What worth do trinkets hold compared to eternity (Mt 16:26; Luke 12:15)?