Do you have people? If you ever find yourself in a bind, you need people. My father became a Mason when I was young. He told me if he ever got in trouble, a Mason in the area would come to his aid. I don’t remember him testing the concept, but I was impressed with their promise of loyalty and help.
As Paul began his ministry in Corinth, he met Priscilla and Aquila, who shared their tent-making ministry with him. Later, Silas and Timothy joined Paul. As he devoted himself exclusively to preaching that Jesus was the Messiah, he found both opposition and success. Some were abusive towards him, but many others believed.
One night the Lord Jesus spoke to Paul in a vision, telling him not to be afraid but to keep on speaking. Upon what basis could Paul preach without fear? The Lord told him he had many people in the city. The Lord’s people became Paul’s people. So he stayed there for eighteen months.
Don’t we wish we had the promise of people who would protect us? No matter how connected we are electronically, we may feel utterly alone sometimes. To live the Christian life, we still need to have people. Good news. God’s people are also our people. Time and again they have come to our aid.
As a teen-aged pastor in Falls County, Texas, I ran my car off into a muddy ditch on a rainy night. Owls hooted as I trudged through the mud to find help. By the time I came over a hill and saw a light, the mud on the bottom of my dress shoes made me two inches taller. T Hogg met me on the porch. In his overalls, he looked like a cross between Danny Devito and Boss Hogg. Though I had never met him in my life, he knew about my church. T smiled at my misfortune as he made his way to the barn to get his tractor so he could pull me out. That night I found out that T was one of my people, because he was one of God’s people. His daughter and son-in-law joined our church and became some of my closest friends.
