Impact

"(v 12)Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel,(v 13) so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, (v 14)and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. " — Phil. 1:12-14

I want you to imagine the most dedicated, respectable, credible, knowledgeable, outspoken Christian that you personally know. Are you thinking of someone? What if you met with this person every morning for one hour before you went to work and just had normal conversation with them? Do you think that person would have a profound influence on the rest of your day? If this person really is a dedicated soldier for Christ, the answer is YES because undoubtably they would talk about spiritual matters the majority of the time.

Now let’s take it a step further. Take this person you just thought of and multiply their credibility level times 10,000. Multiply their knowledge by 100,000. Multiply their outspokenness by 1,000,000 (It’s really probably more but I’m just trying to make a point). Now, imagine that your job, the way you put food on the table, is to be physically chained to this person for 8 hours each day. No doubt this person would become the single greatest influence in your life. Well, this is exactly what happened to a few unsuspecting officers in Rome’s elite Praetorian Guard.

Let’s set the scene very quickly. The Apostle Paul has bogus charges brought against him while in Jerusalem. He is then moved about 50 miles up the road to Caesarea to have his case heard by the Governor of the region, Felix. After two years of his case going nowhere with Felix, Festus takes over as Governor. Festus hears Paul’s case and finds nothing to hold him on, but because Paul appealed his case to Caesar (remember Paul is a Roman citizen), he is sent to Rome. Finally, after much drama on the high seas, the convoy arrives at Rome.

Paul was then under house arrest in Rome while waiting for his chance to bring his case before the Emperor Nero. During this time he was physically chained to a Praetorian Guardsman 24 hours a day. The Praetorian Guard were elite soldiers, handpicked by the emperor to be his personal bodyguards. They were the top of the sphere of the Roman military. A better way to describe them in our U.S. mind set is they had the duties of the Secret Service and the training of the Green Berets. As a result of constant interaction with Paul, they began getting saved left and right, and these men began a revival that swept through the entire Praetorian Guard. Just think about that. If it wasn't in the Word of God I wouldn't believe it. Paul is the gold standard of not allowing circumstances to hinder your focus on the Plan of God.

As an amateur student of history, this subject fascinates me. I would have to write an entire book to fully examine Paul’s relationship with the Praetorian Guard, and the implications it had on the history of the entire Roman empire. (If you know of such a book please let me know, I would love to read it). I know this is a long devotion, but the point is simple. Though we are not physically chained to anyone, we are constantly interacting with the same people everyday, and we are influencing them either positively or negatively.

Whether it be family, friends, co-workers, or whoever. Are we influencing those we have in our six square feet for Christ? Or are we allowing our circumstances to compromise our obligation to represent Christ to a dying world? Go back, study the life of Paul (there are hundreds of books written on his life), this man NEVER let his circumstances dictate his actions. What spiritual advantage did Paul possess that we do not? The answer is NOTHING. We have the same ability to make a difference for Christ that Paul did, the difference is we choose not to step up. Starting right now, let’s take our Christian walk seriously and see if God will use us to do great things for Him. Who knows...maybe God really is faithful!!!!! A favorite quote my friend Andrew Robinson used to recite often, "One day someone is going to take the Word of God seriously, and the world will never be the same."