A Heart for Creeps... Er... Crete
Interestingly, the ship comes ashore to an island called, "Crete." The Roman Authorities wanted to get to Rome early and so set sail despite warnings from Paul and the ship would eventually meet a brutal storm costing all the cargo and finally be shipwrecked on the island called Malta.
During the hectic voyage, it says this:
Acts 27:21 (ESV) Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss.
But the interesting thing is how Crete comes into play in the New Testament later on. Something must have happened to Paul on that short stay in Crete. He must have saw a need to spread the Gospel and wanted to do so but wasn't afforded the opportunity. These people would not escape his conscience however, and at some point Paul would make it to Crete and preach the Gospel.
The reason we know?
The book of Titus.
Titus opens with these words:
Titus 1:4–5 (ESV) To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. 5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—
Paul would make it to Crete and leave his disciple Titus to establish an orderly church that could reach the people of this strange little island. Now for us these people become an unexpected reminder of who the Gospel is for. The Gospel is for those we usually don't think its for. It's for the people others want to avoid.
You see there may have been another reason the Roman Centurion directed the ship leave Crete sooner rather than later. We find those clues in the Epistle to Titus.
Titus 1:12–13 (ESV) One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,
Cretans were really bad people. Of course it is an assumption to believe this is why the Centurion wanted to ship off soon, but it's not that impossible to accept. Think of it, you land up on a strange island and winters coming when you're going to spend a lot of time inside... do you want to do that with liars, beasts and lazy over-eaters?
Yet on that short stop over, Paul saw something in them. They probably reminded Paul of the kind of people Christ came to save and Christ came to love. Not the people who had it together, or the people with the best reputation... no, the ones who are infamously known for things we hope NOT to be. The people Christ called, "poor in spirit." And in that very sinful scene of Crete, Paul saw hope made possible in Christ.
And how would these horrible Cretans change? We have to read from Titus again:
Titus 2:11–14 (ESV) For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
Where sin abounds, grace much more abounds. People who look far from God are the ones who need God the most. And there's no sinful reputation able to stop the power of God's training grace which helps us walk away from the evil passions of our pasts.
Grace can teach anyone.
Even Cretans.
PRAYER:
Father, help me to see people in this way... never outside Your reach and Your grace. Help me to look at my world with the eyes of Jesus and to stop judging by mere appearances and to start listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Help me to always believe there's hope for anyone.
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