“13 After some days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesarea and paid a courtesy call on Festus. 14 Since they stayed there many days, Festus presented Pauls case to the king, saying, ‘There’s a man who was left as a prisoner by Felix. 15 When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews presented their case and asked for a judgment against him. 16 I answered them that it’s not the Roman’s custom to give any man up before the accused confronts the accusers face to face and has an opportunity to give a defense concerning the charges. 17 Therefore, when they had assembled here, I did not delay. The next day I sat at the judge’s bench and ordered the man to be brought in. 18 Concerning him, the accusers stood up and brought no charge of the sort I was expecting. 19 Instead they had some disagreements with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, a dead man Paul claimed to be alive. 20 Since I was at a loss in a dispute over such things, I asked him if he wished to go to Jerusalem and be tried there concerning these matters. 21 But when Paul appealed to be held for trial by the Emperor, I ordered him to be kept in custody until I could send him to Caesar.’

22 Then Agrippa said to Festus, ‘I would like to hear the man myself.’

‘Tomorrow you will hear him,’ he replied.”

Acts 25:13-22

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What type of influence is the Holy Spirit exerting through Paul’s imprisonment? Even these officials know more about what he stands for than any other aspect of his life. There is no question in relation to Paul’s main allegiance in life or what he has determined is worth fighting for. They may not understand it, but that is to be expected. The main point here is that the Name of Jesus is being talked about by those outside the faith & their first impression is that of a man who thinks that Jesus is worth getting locked up over, worth laying his life down for & that alone is huge. Paul left them with something to think about before he even met them. So, what does that mean for us? 

The take-away is fairly obvious. A life well lived for Jesus is going to make an impression on people whether we are there to make that impression in person or not. Our life in Christ is meant to be different, to stand out and in that separation from the rest of the world, there will be questions and people who feel compelled to find out more. “Why is that guy doing that?” seems to be a pretty common question surrounding Paul’s life, and the answer keeps pointing back to Jesus. It’s not about Paul, you can see that even here as two irreligious men discuss him. As they talk about Paul, the conversation hinges on his belief in Jesus Christ. 

When we seek to live an impression making life like this, we aren’t doing it for our own benefit or fame. We don’t do it so seek out glory for ourselves. Instead, we do it for the glory of Christ Jesus, our Messiah. Our desire is that more people see Him ay work in us and are drawn to Him. As we spend our lives to lift Him up, people find their eyes drawn past us and to the cross. In living to intentionally point people toward Jesus, we give them something to think about, and our lives are spent in service to Him for the benefit of others. As we follow His mandate to GoLove others in His Name, those rhythms of grace we live out every day through worship, service, study, prayer, giving & fellowship will make an impression on them that lets them see that our life is about something far greater than ourselves. Our lives point toward Jesus. Why would we give up vacation time to go on a mission trip? Why would we devote our finances to being given away? Whay would we spend so much time with our church family every week? Why are we always reading the Bible? Because we realize that our life is meant for more than selfish desire. We see that life is mission & that we have been called to ‘Go’ and live something very, very different than the rest of the world around us. It is a beautifully simple life to live.