I looked in the direction of the voice. A man-a prisoner, by the looks of him-stood confidently waiting to be heard. I raised my eyebrow at him, my question clear, How do you know this?
"God told me."
I don't even try to stop my snort. I wave at a nearby soldier to take the man away, and turn my attention back to the captain and the ship's owner.
The man who tried to warn me at the beginning of the journey comes to stand by me. The man, Paul as I've learned, looks at me expectantly. Beside me a soldier retches overboard. Here comes the I-told-you-so speech.
Paul clears his throat. "Men, you should have listened to me. Then you would not have incurred this injury and loss. However, I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you," I lift my head hopefully. "Only the ship will be lost." Great. Just great. "For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship. He said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. Behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.' So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told."
"But we will run aground on some island." Paul finishes.
"Wake up."
I moan as someone shakes me. I had escaped from the deck, hoping to get some rest down below. If you wedge yourself under the bottom bunk on the floor, you don't rock around as much with the violent waves, and you can almost get some sleep.
Almost.
Paul is hovering over me. "Some of the sailors are lowering the escape boats under the pretense of laying out the anchors. They are scared. However, if these men don't remain in the ship, you cannot be saved."
I want to shove him away and go back to sleep. I close my eyes again. What if I don't listen to him? What will happen. Can I really risk that? If I had listened to him to begin with, we wouldn't be lost at sea, with hardly any food, and we wouldn't have lost money when we threw the cargo overboard.
I groan, and climb out of my little cave. Trudging to the main deck, I start barking out commands. "Get those men away from the side!" My soldiers rush to do my bidding. The wind is whipping threw the sails, making my words sound garbled. The soldiers grab the five men who were planning on escaping, and drag them back. They struggle, but are so weak from hunger, that my men are able to restrain their desperate attempts. "Cut the ropes!" Everyone stares at me. My order has basically sentenced us to a watery grave. I would tell them to haul the boats back up, but I can't risk anyone else trying to take matters into their own hands.
I make eye contact with Paul. He nods.
"Cut the ropes." I say again, hoping with every fiber of my being that I haven't made a terrible mistake.
After eating our meal-I tried not to think of it as our final meal-we had waited until day before devising a plan based on Paul's words. We could see a bay with a beach in the distance. After some struggle against the wind, the ship was finally aimed in the right direction. The plan was to run the ship aground.
It all went down hill from there.
The ropes to the anchors were cut, and they were thrown overboard. Sails were set, and rudders were loosed. Then we hit a reef, completely immobilizing the ship. And sinking it.
Now we would all have to jump overboard and swim for it. The ship's deck was chaotic, and I was trying to organize, and help pull off loose boards for those who couldn't swim.
A group of soldiers ran up to me. One angry, snide man started talking. "Sir, we have suffered much loss. The loss of the cargo alone is could ruin us. We can't afford to let the prisoners escape."
"They aren't going to escape. We are being shipwrecked-" I start, but another soldier cuts me off.
"We can't run the risk that any of the prisoners will swim away and escape." The second man pauses before continuing, but I immediately notice the waver to his voice. "We think we should kill the prisoners, so an escaped convict isn't added to our crimes."
I stare at them dumbfounded. I'd understand ridding ourselves of some of the evil men who killed for sport, but it's still unlikely I'd authorize murder. However, that's not what they are asking. They want to kill everyone-including Paul.
Paul got us this far. I can't let that happen.
"No. It's out of the question."
"But Sir!"
"I said no."
Then turned to go, but I could hear the first, angry man mumble, "Then you may endure Caesar's wrath." I knew that this was no mistake, but those men wouldn't wait long before starting a massacre. I had to make sure Paul got off this ship immediately.
It was time to get these people in the water.
Based on Acts 27
I wanted to look at the centurion's choices on this journey, how they affected others, himself, and even Paul. He had a roll to play, and was a deciding factor in getting everyone aboard that ship to land safe and sound.
"But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said." Acts 27:11
"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 form Crete and incurred this injury and loss.'" Acts 27:21
Paul had heard from God, and the centurion just ignored that message, too busy focusing on the important people around him. Do we respond like the centurion did at first? We should all take a close look at our spiritual walks. Are we more focused on all the important, respectable, older people, and not even bothering to listen to the message God is trying to get across to us from the little prisoner? Just like the centurion, we could avoid a lot of loss, if we listen.
"Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, 'Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.' Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship's boat and let it go." Acts 27:31-32
The centurion made a major choice here. It was probably the turning point for him. After seeing that Paul had heard from God, he didn't want to make the same mistake again. He cut away his other options of escape, his fallback. He could no longer trust in himself, and in what he could do, but rather that God would be faithful to do what He'd promised.
"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6
Do we trust in the word God has given us? Or do we rely on our own strength, our personal lifeboats to fix every situation? God will not leave you hanging, but you have to cut the ropes, and trust Him completely. His decision to cut the ropes may have seemed foolish to everyone else, but in reality, it saved their lives.
"The soldiers' plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape. But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land." Acts 27:42-43
Here our friend is determined to save Paul's life. I imagine that there were some gnarly prisoners on board that ship, and he was willing to risk their escape, and the possibility of some pretty gristly follow-up consequences. He affected Paul's life. His protection made it possible for Paul to get to Rome, and stand before Caesar.
Do our actions defend God, or prohibit Him? We don't ever want to look down, and realize we've been standing in God's way. The centurion could have given the order for the prisoners to all be killed. Thankfully this man recognized Paul for who he was, and made sure Paul got out of there alive. His dedication to Paul, enabled Paul's own journey to Caesar.
We help others on their walks, missions, and journeys. However, we can also be a hindrance to those people. It all depends on Who we are really serving: ourselves or God? Thinking about me, myself, and I, or helping one of our own.
"It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel." Philippians 1:7
The centurion made some very critical choices on this journey, choices that you and I make all the time, too. Everyday, after we get up, maybe have some coffee, we have the choice to ignore God's message to us, and live with the consequences. We can realize that right here, right now is a turning point, and start choosing God. We can partake of grace. We can partake in the sharing of the Gospel. In every big and small decision of our journey, we can choose God, and cut the rope to our lifeboat. We can be a help to those around us, or make the situation even worse.
The centurion messed up, but he also saw that, and started choosing God's way. If this centurion can do it, in the face of death, mutiny, being shipwrecked, hunger, and a raging storm, then should we, God's own people, let anything stop us from doing the same thing?
"As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct." 1 Peter 1:14-15
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