That We May All Be One

Despite the Holy Spirit warning him "in every city" that "prison and hardships" await him, Paul resolutely continues his journey towards and finally reaches Jerusalem in this week's passage. Here Paul meets with the leaders of the church in Jerusalem and is encouraged to pursue a course of action that will allay the concerns held by many new Jewish believers that he is encouraging Jews to stop being Jewish. Practicing what he preaches, namely that he is willing to be 'all things to all people' for the sake of the gospel, Paul agrees despite significant risk to himself and ends up severely beaten and in chains for his efforts.
Paul demonstrates that, so long as the integrity of the gospel is preserved, he is willing to go to significant lengths in order to maintain the unity of the early church. In an age where division between and within churches is rife, his example to us is both sobering and encouraging.