“After greeting them, Paul gave a detailed account of the things God had accomplished among the Gentiles through his ministry.”
Acts 21:19 (NLT)
Paul arrives in Jerusalem and the believers welcome him cordially. He meets with James and the elders, exchanges greetings, and then gets the opportunity to tell them what God had been doing among the Gentiles through his ministry. Paul is testifying. He is encouraging them. The leaders are strengthening one another’s faith.
But after Paul gives a detailed account of all God had accomplished through years of ministry, Luke records only three words that honor it: they praised God. Then the conversation turns to laws, customs, rumors, and confusion. There was a lot more attention given to the customs of the church than the fruit of the church in this passage.
Paul still builds common ground. Like he says in 1 Corinthians 9, he is willing to become all things to all people so that some would be saved. Paul is not above the customs of the people he is ministering to. He is willing to honor the customs, not because they save us, but because peace matters to the people that matter to God.
But I wonder how often we still get lost in the sauce. Are we more concerned with the customs of the church than the fruit of the church? Let’s spend more time praising, testifying, and completing the work of the ministry. Let’s be more concerned today about reaching people far from God than wrestling through every tradition, practice, or preference inside the church.