Moving Where I Am

Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. (Acts 17:1 NASB)

The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. (Acts 17:10 NASB)

Then immediately the brethren sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and Silas and Timothy remained there.
Now those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left. (Acts 17:14-15 NASB)

After these things he left Athens and went to Corinth. (Acts 18:1 NASB)

One of my least favorite things to do is move.  I hate it.  Partly because we have too much stuff, but mostly because it's so unsettling (duh, that's part of the point of moving).  I don't like uprooting, and I don't like getting resettled.  Recently (in the last few years), air travel has become another thing I don't like to do.  But for all these forms or types of travel, I do like to travel.

I like to drive long distances.  I like to see stuff, especially local stuff that tells the story of the place.  I like hearing people's story of why they're there or what happened way back when.  When I started college, everything I had for my dorm room fit in my truck; all of it.  It was actually a lot of stuff, but I was very proud that it all fit in one trip, books, rack stereo, computer (before laptops) and all.   It made it really easy to travel, pick up and go, I felt like I could be a gypsy.  I just have never had that mentality, but I had the truck.

Paul moved about a lot.  In fact, in the next chapter of Acts, 18, he doesn't even stay home long before heading out again for the northern regions of Asia Minor.  He didn't have a truck, all his stuff fit in his bag, on his back.  And he walked.  It couldn't have been easy in those days.  Sure merchants did it all the time, but they traveled in caravans, on wagons, and so on.  There was no "bus" to the interior regions of Anatolia, he had to hoof it; and do so with all his "gear".

Paul seems to love this sort of thing.  He goes to churches, strengthening them, and moving on to the next.  I'm not so wild about it.  It may fit some people just right, and they may love the very idea.  We're not all the same, and we're not all that different, but I believe that God has prepared and gifted some for this sort of Christian Road Show.  I read a book about a pastor from China, who moved about a lot.  He had a home, wife, children, but he also moved around to various churches.  It was a hard life, on him and his family, yet he felt compelled, and God used him tremendously because of his willingness to be a Christian Road Show. 

I don't feel so compelled.  I don't believe this is my "gifting" from my Master.  On the other hand, I wonder if I'm just too comfortable.  What if it is my "calling", but I'm too much in love with the "setup" I enjoy in this place?  That never lasts long.  I know something about myself.  I don't have a "road show" to take.  I have a gospel to proclaim, God is reconciling the world to Himself through His Son, Jesus.  But my "audience" is here.  I'm not one to take this message on the road.  At lest, not so far.  I have no "audience" beyond my neighborhood.

I suppose what I'm saying is that I'm not out there in front as much as back here in the background.  I'm okay with that.  I'll travel for vacation and family events, but my Master has planted me here, for these people.  I need to be about what my Master has for me rather than looking outward for 'the next big thing'.  Paul was not my model for method, but he is for attitude.  He submitted to the Master and went.  I need to submit to the same Master and stay.  There are others my Master has who are destined for Paul's model of method.  They need my prayer support and financial support.  And so I give of both.  But I also need to be about the work here around me.  There's plenty to do here.

Some From Among The Scoffers

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, "We shall hear you again concerning this."  So Paul went out of their midst.  But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them. (Acts 17:32-34 NASB)

It may seem odd, but the word, "others" doesn't appear in the Greek text of verse 32.   It can be understood as "supplied' from a grammatical particle which has some flexibility of meaning, but it's not overtly stated.  It does lend some sense to the verse to put it in there, but I wonder about leaving it out.  With it out, this group sounds like churches of which I've been a part; including the "some men joined him and believed" part.

In several churches I've been a part of, it isn't "polite" to be honest, but neither is it in our best interest to reveal character flaws.  I can sneer in private, but publicly applaud.  I can nod my head in agreement, but in a whisper to the wife cut down the preacher.  I can, I have, I don't any more because I learned that lesson in a harsh manner.  Yet, it seems only in the context of church. 

Now, on the outside of vocational ministry, I have no problem conducting myself this way in business meetings, or with customers.  In fact, I consider it a big part of my job to be polite to customers, even difficult ones, while I'm on the phone.  That part is good.  The part that is not good is cutting them down after I hang up.  Or ripping the executive or management behind their back after they've made a decision with which I don't agree (I work in a democracy, right?).

The problem for me in this activity is that it erodes my credibility without my being aware.  Not that I have to be all about "credibility" but this characteristic stems from authentic living of my faith.  I gain credibility when I am authentic with what I believe, when my faith in Jesus has a pronounced effect on my attitude towards others, even those I can't see or don't believe will ever find out about me. 

The reality I deny when I behave that way is that my True Master knows, even when my earthly masters do not.  And, my Master has designed this world so that, even if they do not know what evil I do, the effects of that evil I do spread, and infect other relationships.  I will not escape consequences of my evil simply because "no one knows."  I know, and it effects me.

Yet, on the flip side, when Paul goes out from their midst, some follow, and some are prominent "Areopagite" sorts.  Paul is true to his belief that all men need reconciliation to their Maker, and sees success in his pursuit of that reconciliation.  He didn't focus on possible polite deception, or his detractors.  He was joined, and he focused on those who responded to his good news. 

I can focus on the things with which I don't agree, but there's enough with which I do agree to keep me busy without complaining.  It's a choice.  Being polite does not "require" dishonesty, and I can chose to be both polite and honest with both customers and co-workers (including the management chain).  I can choose.  The question is will I?

Groping for the Unknown God

Act 17:23
23 For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. ’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.
(NASBStr)

The observant Paul found something odd in Athens, a 'catch-all' altar. It wasn't to just any 'god' but to one for Whom they had no name. They were 'groping' for Him (v.27), or used to.

Don't people do that? It would take some serious evidence to convince me that all humans are not religious creatures. We are all 'groping' for the Unknown God, yet, sadly, as Paul points out, 'He is not far from us.'

So close, yet still so dead. The is no life apart from our Maker, and the poor dead souls about me seek that life I have, groping in the dark for the light I enjoy. I feel so powerless to communicate the truth, yet so compelled to try. If only I would see others this way all the time, and not just while I'm blogging. They may be pathetically dead, but I'm pathetically alive. This must change.

Competing In The Arena of Thought

Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols.  So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present.  And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, "What would this idle babbler wish to say?" Others, "He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities," -- because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.  And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, "May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming?  "For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean."  (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.) (Acts 17:16-21 NASB)

Some faithful readers (more likely "reader") probably know that I am a philosopher.  But some who are more familiar with the term 'philosopher' would also know that I fit it in the sense that I think about what I think about, rather than in the classical sense found in colleges and universities.  I think a lot about my faith as well, since it's what takes up a lot of my thought.  So, in that sense I am a Christian philosopher.  I see myself that way anyway.

Paul doesn't really look at things this way.  He's into building bridges that connect people to Jesus.  I use that analogy because one bridge really doesn't fit several different spans, they have to be "custom built" or adapted to fit (normally).  Techniques are reused, but the bridges typically aren't.  Paul "builds bridges" and discovered a really difficult "span" in Athens.  These guys did a lot of "religion" and thought long and hard about it.  But philosophy also has a popular aspect to it, and different philosophies were in vogue at different times in Athens.  In Paul's day it was the Epicureans and the Stoics who captivated the prevailing arguments.

There's no great succinct description of a 'school' of philosophy, but here's an attempt with these two.  Epicureans believed/believe in the pursuit of pleasure as the center of life.  Their arguments all seek to support this viewpoint in some fashion.  The Stoics believed/believe that suppression of emotions was what brought harmony and peace.  They had their arguments as well.  As you can see, these two 'schools' were diametrically opposed, and debate was often lively.  One consistency between them was the rejection of any notion of resurrection; obviously an issue with Paul's faith.

Paul spoke in the synagogue, but really got traction in the marketplace.  This is where the "junior debaters" everyone else debated/discussed the philosophy of the day.  But new stuff (like Paul's view) went up the hill behind the market, to the Areopagus.  After days of discussion in the market, Paul is taken to the Areopagus.  In his presentation, he uses a lot of philosophy instead of Scripture.  How much of the Epicurean and Stoic writings with which he was familiar isn't known.  It's possible, in Tarsus, he was raised knowing some.  But he was raised to be a Pharisee which forced him to specialize.  I suspect he learned most of what he knew in the Athenian market.  And he displayed his use of it within days of his arrival in Athens.  This guy learned fast and learned well.

The take away for me in this is Paul's willingness to enculturate the good news of Jesus without sacrificing the news.  There is a huge similarity between Jews and Gentiles where the good news of Jesus is concerned; they both face the same problem.  The problem is that they are separated from their Maker and only Jesus can reconcile.  Regardless of their ethnic background, they are separated from a loving Maker, and Jesus reconciles.  That's pretty much the essence of the good news, everything else makes up the Who's, why's, and how's of the reconciliation.

Why can't I look at people this way?  What is so hard about seeing this as the only common ground necessary to engage in a discussion of faith?  It's everywhere in Scripture, both Hebrew and Christian.  How can it be that I would seek some other more complex, and often less meaningful, opportunity.  I wonder if my excuse has been that I'm seeking opportunity, but really just need to ask a simple question of their standing before their Maker.  Perhaps, and it can't be that hard to come up with a way to ask that question anyone will understand.  Perhaps it's not 'appropriate' with my customers during work, but it might be, depending on the customer.  I have a lot to do so that I practice this differently.

The Wrong Sort of Followers

The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.  Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.  Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men.  But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there as well, agitating and stirring up the crowds. (Acts 17:10-13 NASB)

Paul and Silas have survived the Antisemitism of Philippi and it's jail, in fact the jailer was added to the church.  And as they travel on (without Luke for some reason), they come the Thessalonica.  This city is still around today in Macedonia only it's called Thessaloniki.  It's position in the Aegean and prominence on trade routes still make it an important port city in the Mediterranean Sea.  But it's actually in the Macedonian Province of Greece, rather than the country of Macedonia.  Philip of Macedonia and his son, Alexander the Great, were Macedonian (hence Alex the G's dad's name if you hadn't caught that).

Arriving in Thessalonica, they go to the synagogue like normal, and like normal discuss Jesus as the Jewish Messiah for about three weeks without major incident.  Then, when the people accepting this Jewish Messiah are permitted to remain Gentiles, suddenly they're not all having fun.  Thugs from the marketplace are enlisted to help start a riot in the city, and they go to this guy, Jason's, house.  Not finding Paul and Silas, they drag him out into the riot, and back to the market for trial.  The charges are remarkably similar to Philippi, but the treatment is different, Jason and others with him just gave a "pledge" of some sort and are released.  Paul, Silas, and Timothy are sent to Berea, about 50 miles away.

This new city is prominent as well, not as big as Thessalonica, but still good size.  In this synagogue, the Jews are different.  Here they examine the Scriptures for themselves for what Paul is teaching.  Luke says they were more noble and gives two reasons, first, they examine carefully and extensively the Scriptures.  Second, they do so for days.  Many of the prominent people of the city believe, and the Jews don't seem to mind it so much.  But then trouble follows Paul and Silas from Thessalonica.

The Jews there, hearing that Paul and Silas are in Berea, go there and stir up trouble.  There's not a lot of detail, but it's bad enough to inspire the believers to send Paul away (but not Silas and Timothy).  It seems enough to quell the riot that Paul leaves.  So, essentially, it's focused on him.  He has the wrong sort of followers.  He has the good sort too, but this bad sort cause a lot of trouble for him.  It's grounds for some real "soul searching" on his part.

Is Paul wrong to be willing to stir up so much unrest?  Is he doing what he's doing the right way?  Does he have some sort of adversarial attitude that just sets people off or rubs them the wrong way?  People seemed to love Barnabas, Silas, Timothy, but Paul...well, he has his fan club and then he has those following him with clubs.  Why would a group of Jews be so upset with this guy that they travel to cause him trouble?  They're even Jews, like he is.  You'd think they'd get along.  But clearly they don't.  I think there are several reasons, but I'll give the two I think are the most powerful motivators.

Paul senses his call by Jesus, his drive from the Holy Spirit, is to bring the good news of Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, to Gentiles.  This is a huge problem for Jews in the culture of the first century.  Jews at this time are entrenched and embattled to maintain their culture as separate from the Gentiles they live among, while still living among them.  The customs are so different and rigorously separate that this is hard on both the Jews and the Gentiles with whom they interact.  Sometimes the Gentiles responded by joining the Jews in their veneration of God without becoming Jews themselves.  Others responded by ostracizing the Jews leading to various expressions of Antisemitism (like in Philippi).  It was a 'culture' war and the Jews had always been on the defensive with it.  So, understandably, they were real touchy when someone tries to take over their Messiah.  The Messiah is for the Jews!  What would happen to the culture war if this weren't true?  The Jews would be in danger of being assimilated into the cultures around them and lose their heritage, or so it would seem.  That was not an option for a lot of Jews focused on the culture war.

But there is a second reason which I feel affected Jews and Gentiles both.  In Philippi it was some Gentiles who caused the riot.  In all three places, Gentiles are involved in the disturbances.  In some way, there is something about Paul which inspires animosity in people without regard to cultural background.  We probably know people who have this affect on others.  They just rankle most people.  They "don't play well with others."  There are a variety of reason, anger issues, arrogance, rudeness, and so on.  The only reason I don't think these are the issues comes from Paul's writings.  If he had these issues, he would not have been able to write 1 Corinthians 13 with much credibility with the Corinthian church.  In fact, in that letter, he seems to be struggling with credibility from being too gentle in person (which seems odd).  I suspect there something else.  I don't know this for a fact about Paul, nor is there a tremendous amount of "extra biblical" support anywhere, and I have to admit I may be transferring something of myself into this interpretation.  But I suspect that he may have been very frustrating for A-type personalities in much the same way the fictional character, Detective Columbo was portrayed to be.  I don't think Paul stumbled about or seemed distracted, or sort of "out of it", but that he didn't appear to be any sort of "scholar" or worthy debater.  I think he neither looked the part of a "Scribe" nor behaved like one, but he could out-think them most days of the week.  I think the cognizant dissonance between what he looked like and what he was capable of was just too much for certain powerful personalities to handle.  I think of him as essentially a human theological ambush (my hero!).

Now, the last reason is a whole lot of speculation.  Maybe, possibly, but maybe not.  Even if it were a reason, it's possibly not a prominent one (especially not in Philippi where there wasn't much of debate).  I suppose what I gain from it is that people are often judged by outward appearance, but rarely are what they look like.  It's not that people always put up facades, but that we are so complex.  Sometimes the outward appearance isn't "wrong" just not the main plot of our life story.  I find delight in discovering the disconnect between what people look like and who they turn out to be.  People who turn out to be so much more than appearances are so refreshing to me.  People who turn out to be so much less, well, not so much.

So, what do people discover with me?  I think my Master wants me to be much more than I appear.  I suspect that, as treasures of heaven in jars of clay, I am to be plain on outside, but precious on the inside.  People should discover Jesus in me and not so much "me" in me.  I don't think people should discover a "know-it-all" or "closet-litigator", but rather the qualities of my Master within me.  Sometimes those qualities do seem to know all, and sometimes they argue remarkably well.  But those can't be the quality they discover, or it's just more of "me" in me.  Perhaps I can be a walking human theological ambush, but I hope that what jumps out at them in the ambush is the Spirit of the Living God.  After all, the in the King James, He is referred to as the "Holy Ghost"!  Mmmuuuuhhhaahhhaahhhaa!

The Problem With Free Advertising

  It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling.  Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, "These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation."  She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out at that very moment.
  But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place before the authorities, and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, "These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, and are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans."  The crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods.  When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely; and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. (Acts 16:16-24 NASB)

So there's Paul and Silas moving about the Roman colony of Philippi sharing the good news that Jesus died for all reconciling all to God, and having a rough go of it.  There's a lot of competing religious views, and due to the glut of differences, there's also a lot of jaded "religious consumers".  One competitor seems to be very helpful.  This slave-girl with a "python spirit".  What this means is that she is considered to be an "oracle", able to tell fortunes and futures by means of a possessing spirit.  Such people were thought by historians to be ecstatic in their pronouncements, which means customers got a show along with their fortune.

This particular oracle is following Paul and Silas about the city claiming that they were servants of God Most High (El Elyon in Hebrew) proclaiming the way of salvation.  The claim was true, that's who they were and what they were doing.  Perhaps Paul and Silas were gaining some traction from her "free advertising", but it seems that a few days of this and Paul has had it with the spirit.  He casts it out in the name of Jesus Christ, and she is freed from the possession of the oracle.  We never find out what she thinks of this.  We do find out what her employers/owners think of it.  Paul and Silas wind up in jail.

While Luke isn't clear on why Paul was annoyed, I did find a possibility.  Remember it takes a few days for his annoyance to reach an action point.  Well, the definite article on "way" is actually supplied in most English translations.  In Greek, this isn't that big a deal, but leaves some ambiguity about how to be saved.  So, when there's a lot of competition in a place, and they are said to be one of possible others, the advertising may have been more detrimental than helpful.  The ambiguity may be why it took Paul a few days.  If the results started reflecting an interpretation of them as part of the "religious cafeteria" then it has to go.

The other result was they they were thrown into prison without trial.  That may not surprise us with low expectations of fair treatment in those days, but it wasn't the norm.  The words of the girl's owners gives a clue as to what caused such harsh treatment.  But the clue needs to be combined with the other element that there was no synagogue in Philippi.  The customs of the Jews were not "illegal" in Roman society, it was the conversion or proselytizing that was a problem.  Even that wasn't illegal, but Jews held themselves apart from many of the Roman customs and legal requirements.  They had a special "legal right" to practice their faith when others did not.  This surely grated on people.  Some embraced their position, others were offended or jealous.  In this city, it seems they were not welcome.

A Roman colony has a special legal status as well.  They were exempt from certain taxes (a poll tax) and the surrounding fields were exempt from property taxes.  Colonies were bastions of Roman culture among barbarian peoples; or so they thought.  The last thing this colony wanted was Jewish elements "coloring" their Roman life.  So, they reacted strongly to the accusation that Paul and Silas were Jews teaching illegal practices.  Paul and Silas may have been surprised by the treatment since being both Jewish and Roman citizens, they usually were able to move about without incident.  And all this happened because Paul frees a girl possessed by both a fortune-telling spirit and money-hungry slave-owners.

What is interesting is that Paul and Silas don't protest.  Even in the jail, they're singing praises to God (and have pretty good voices because the other inmates are listening to them at midnight).  There's no protest, no call for a lawyer, no claim of Roman citizenship before the magistrates or jailer, nothing.  They allow themselves to be beaten and jailed.  It's possible that they did protest, but couldn't be heard over the crowd, it's further possible that they weren't conscious when jailed and couldn't protest then.  But even so, they woke up and praised God from the stocks rather than complained that they were ill-treated Romans.  Even to God they didn't complain that they received this treatment after doing good to the slave girl.

I learn a few lessons here.  First I learn that not everything that is cheap or free is from my Master.  Second I learn that doing good does not guarantee good treatment from others, even the ones to whom I do the good.  And third, I learn that in all things, good and bad, it is always appropriate to praise my Master.  He remains God and on His throne regardless of my circumstances.  Perhaps it is once again an acceptance that heaven makes all suffering here well compensated.  I suppose that could be it, but there is more.  Having been jailed, these two reach the jailer, a significant person in Philippi.  It wasn't easy to endure the beating, but they finally achieved traction in Philippi.  And if the letter Paul writes later is any indication, the church does pretty well after he leaves. 

So was it worth it?  Was the free advertising worth it?  Was the beating and prison time worth it?  The embarrassment of punishment without a trial, was that worth it?  How about my own difficulties?  Well, mine don't really compare to all this, but any I do face from doing the right thing, are they worth it?  If the Kingdom of my King grows and my King is honored, then, yes, it's worth it.  If what I suffer is from serving my King as my King directs, then, yes, it's worth it.  If I am obedient to my King, I must also accept the consequences of such service, whether they're comfortable consequences or not.  Fun.  Well, at least it keeps life interesting.

Denied Passage in a Guided Mission

They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. (Acts 16:6-8 NASB)

One of the aspects of Luke's writing is his knack of leaving things out that don't really pertain to his point, and compressing time down to those things that do.  Like any author, he knew that not everything fits in a story where you have a specific ending point you're trying to reach.  It's a bit like film editing.  But what that does is bring the things he did include into sharper relief.  In Acts I learn that Paul isn't perfect; something that really concerned me reading his letters.  I find another example here in this passage.

His split with Barnabas over John Mark was one "plank-eyed" point in Paul's recorded history, but here's another, or at least one where I feel he joins the rest of Christian humanity.  He tries to go into an area to minister, but is prevented by the One he serves.  I love that because I do that.  I get in my head some idea of what would be a great way to minister.  I have some idea of what would really help God out (because He so desperately needs my help), or see an area where He hasn't reached yet, and think, "I'll go there!"

It has to be asked, why would there be an area where God would not want Paul to preach?  Seriously, at that point in time, there were virtually no reached peoples in the world.  A rock thrown in any direction would scarcely hit a believer anywhere in Antolia (Asia Minor or Turkey).  Yet God did not want Paul going where he so desperately wanted to go.  Instead he winds up at Troas, a huge port city and Roman colony.

Now, about my first statement that Luke leaves stuff out.  You're probably wondering about that.  Well, Galatia is a region where Paul writes a letter, so obviously he's been there and knows the churches.  But until this point Luke's never mentioned that, and even here never mentions Paul and believers in the region.  Clearly something was left out.  In fact, it hardly seems possible that Paul would be in a city the size and importance of Troas without ministering.  Yet that's not mentioned either.  In Luke's "tour of Paul", he's hitting high points.

In my imagination, I see Paul reaching the bustling port city of Troas and ending up as far west as he can go, sitting on one of the quay's staring at the sunset over the Aegean.  He's sad because he couldn't go where he was so sure he was supposed to be, and yet now he's here.  Why here?  As he sleeps that night, the view of the sunset visits his dream, only now, a man on the opposite shore is visible calling him to come over there! Ah ha! That's it!  He's been guided all this time.  That's my imagination.  It's much more likely Paul just went wherever and did whatever was needed believing all along that he was being guided.  But I like the picture in my head.

My point is that I don't always need a clear picture in order to move and minister, but I do need to be willing to be guided somewhere I'm not intending to go.   In a sense it's submission to the greater view point of my Master and His grander design.  It turns out that James later writes to churches in the regions where Paul was prevented from going.  It seems others reached there after all.  God hadn't forgot them.  It just wasn't up to Paul to be the arm with which He reached them.  I need to submit the picture my Master has, even if He hasn't shown it.  But as I wait, it's still good to try to discover this will, look around and try things He may be wanting done.  In a sense, it's good to move, and let the hand of my Master guide me like a trickle of water, wherever He wants me to go.  It sure beats being a stagnant mosquito-breeding pool of slime (like that's the only other option).  Keep the flow going!