We learn little about Paul’s trip to Macedonia and Greece from the Acts of the Apostles. We heard nothing about the trouble brewing in Corinth which had to be weighing on Paul’s mind and heart. It does not tell us he was traveling from city to city to collect money for the less privileged Christians in Jerusalem. It does not mention that while he was in Corinth, he wrote the Epistle to the Romans. For whatever reason, Luke reduced this story to a skeleton of geographical facts. An outline like this never tells the whole story of a man’s life. Consider this outline: "Jesus went from Galilee to Jerusalem; on several occasions he went to a garden called Gethsemane, and finally left Jerusalem and went to a hill called Calvary just outside the city wall." These details are accurate but tell us nothing about the last days of Jesus’ incarnate life.

The first statement shows us about Paul’s frame of mind. He had a very difficult time in almost every city he visited and yet it was he who encouraged the disciples. He spent three months in Greece and when he was about to sail to Syria, he learned of a plot against him by the Jews. Considering he was collecting money for Jerusalem provides even more motivation for attacking him on his trip. Thus he decided to return through Macedonia again.

Paul was finally united with all his party at Troas. After a week’s visit, they held a service the night before departing again. Paul began instructing them at the beginning of the service. Apparently he was quite inspired. He talked so long a young man named Eutychus fell out of the third story window in which he was sitting. All preachers must learn to talk no longer than the congregation can bear to listen. We don’t have any transcription of any of Jesus’ sermons, but we get the impression that he spoke in rather brief, well-defined blocks of speech. The longest parables can be told in three minutes although it takes most preachers hours to explain the nuances contained therein.

More important than the length of the service, is what happened to the young man. He was assumed to be dead. Paul fell on him and said, "Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him." Luke thinks Paul brought him back to life but remember when Jesus raised the daughter of Jairus and said, "She is not dead, but sleepeth." In either case, Paul continued the service until daybreak whereupon they took the lad away alive.

Luke again returns to writing only an itinerary as Paul moved from Troas to Miletus. He obviously thought a great deal of Paul or he would not have traveled with him through less than ideal conditions. Nonetheless, he had no intention of writing a biography of Paul. There was little interest in biographies in those days. The Gospels, telling the story of Jesus’ life, tell us precious little about his personal life. Instead they tell the story of the mighty act God was performing in the world. In the same way, Luke was primarily interested in the expansion and development of the church. His interest in the life of Paul was only as it pertained to the expansion of the Church.

At Miletus, Paul called for the elders of the church at Ephesus to come to him. Remember, Paul was collecting money to take to Jerusalem so he had the elders bring their contributions from Ephesus. The speech Paul gave them was not the usual sermon. This talk would only have been relevant to those with whom he had a long and close personal relationship.

First, Paul reminded the elders of what he had already done. He was no stranger and needed no letters of introduction. He lived with them for three years or more. They watched him work and knew how he lived. They saw him endure the hardships of spreading the gospel. The Jews plotted against him time after time and finally drove him from the city. They saw him preach and teach from house to house and in the public lecture halls. They saw him continue his ministry in spite of constant criticism.

Paul reminded them that he always told them the truth. He told them the pleasant things, but he told them the hard things too. He never held out the hope of resurrection without the suffering of the Cross. He never diluted the truth to make it easy for them or comfortable for himself. Paul not only told them the truth, he told it to everyone, Jews and Greeks alike. He preached repentance before God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and these are the same for everyone. There are no special groups nor chosen few. God sees us all alike.

Paul then proceeded to tell them what he was about to do. He was on his way to Jerusalem, "under the binding force of the Spirit." Paul was moving under the guidance of God and he did not know what would happen when he got there. He never knew what would happen when he arrived in a city, and he never expected to know. God would reveal his will when the time came and that was soon enough.

However, he seemed to know there would be trouble ahead and that these people would never see him again. It could be because he was planning a trip to Rome. It could also be the result of yet another city where his teaching was not welcome among the Jews. Things have never been easy for people who dared to run against the grain of the world’s easy virtue. It must have been moving to approach the separation knowing it was the last time they would be together.

Paul was not one to spend time in waves of emotion. He led them on to think about the future. They would be the guardians of the flock and the task would not be easy. Where there are sheep, there are wolves and wolves never spare the sheep. They must be on the alert. The trouble will not always come from the outside as they might expect. It will sometimes come from within. Wherever there is truth, there is the temptation to pervert it, sometimes willfully, and sometimes innocently and unconsciously. As guardians of the truth, they must watch for the enemy outside, like the encroachment of the government on the practice of our faith. But they must also watch for the enemy from within, like the cultural pressure to lower standards and just love everyone.

When Paul finished, he commended them to God who is able to build them up and to give them an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. He then reminded them how he coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel. How many of us can say, "do as I do" as opposed to, "do as I say?"

He then left them with an unforgettable sentence of Jesus, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Happier, indeed, is the man who, like Paul, spends his days and nights giving, giving what he has and what he is, than the man who, fearful of what the future may bring, spends his days hoarding what few things he can gather together in anticipation of disaster. Think about this as a rule of life. Jesus took nine words to set forth the wisdom of God.

This phrase seems too simplistic to apply to every aspect of our lives. If life were that simple we would all be happy and strife would be abolished. However, for strife to be abolished, we must have literally everyone working on the same basis. What strife could remain if everyone believed and practiced Jesus’ words? Strife comes from those who do not believe or practice this rule of life. Those gathering things to serve them in anticipation of disaster create strife for those who want those things for themselves. That can even create strife for those who want to use those things for the good of all mankind.

The hearts of the generous must suffer seeing the greediness of the hoarders. It is easy to allow those hearts to become hardened and bitter. That is a good part of our current political polarization. Once we make a judgment about someone’s heart, it is very difficult to give them the benefit of the doubt. It is difficult to imagine good motives in anyone against whom we have a hardened heart.

There is no better way to live life than to give freely and without judgment. But it is very difficult. We sometimes even think of Paul as being hard-hearted because he was so inflexible in his preaching. Here we see his heart was not hardened. He had great love and concern for the guardians he was leaving behind. Holding to the truth does not mean one must be judgmental. It just means we cannot change God’s will.