Image via WikipediaFor Paul, the belt in question is an honor but not the type of honor we would typically take interest in. It definitely is not the kind of honor our professional wrestling friend would be interested in. The honor that comes with Paul’s belt is not an honor defined by wealth, connection or prestige. The honor of Paul’s belt is defined by service, sacrifice and devotion.
It is defined by service to a vision through service to others. It is service given faithfully no matter the cost. It is a calling he received from Christ.
In Acts 26:17&18 Paul testifies to his calling before Herod Agrippa II. Paul quotes Jesus’ words to him, “I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”
Paul understood that he was being honored with the opportunity to serve in a great work which would reconcile entire nations to God. He also understood that this call would call for him to make sacrifices as well.
That is where we find Paul in Acts 21. Stopping in Caesarea at the home of some friends, Paul is met by a prophet from Judea who has come with a special message. Agabus, the prophet, takes Paul’s belt and begins to bind himself hand and foot. Having hog tied himself he addresses the groups saying, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’” ( Acts 21:11, NRSV ) Luke’s first person testimony at this point betrays his fear. He says that when the group heard these words they began to beg and plead with Paul to stay with them rather than proceed to Jerusalem.
Paul understood that the belt with which he was bound gave him the honor of participating in the work of Christ. For Christ’s sake Paul was even willing to sacrifice his own life for the sake of the Kingdom.
Paul’s willingness to sacrifice was a sign of his devotion to the calling which the resurrected Jesus had placed on his life. He says to those gathered around him, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
Have you eve felt so honored? In a world where we tend to honor people for what are (in the great and eternal scheme of things) very silly reasons, do we not just heap laurels upon the heads of those who need no more honor? You have to think what kind of honor is it that would cause you to respond with service, sacrifice and devotion?
Once, when I was in seminary, my school had acquired an old house on the edge of campus. It had belonged to a deceased former professor and a friend of mine told me that it was slated for demolition. This was sad because it was still full of books. Being the book hound I am, I naturally snuck in to the house and made the perilous journey up the stair case which was only barely there.
In the attic office I found a little office with some books. More importantly, I found walls covered with honors and awards which the man had received over the course of his career. I am sure that at the time they were the most important things in the world, especially to those who gave them. But now, now that the man was dead, they were destined to become the backfill for a new parking lot. Even today they molder under the cars of young seminarians who have no idea who the man was or that he ever existed.
The story does not end there. As I sat in the office pondering the deceased man’s life, I realized that he had lived his life trying to live up to the honor that Christ had bestowed upon him. Like Paul, he had been given the belt so to speak. That honor had moved him so much that he had lived his life in service, devotion and sacrifice to its calling. What belt do you wear?
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