It has been a long time since I studied for an exam. I still have vivid memories of my last set of exams when I was doing my MBA as a 23 year old. The exams for all subjects were conducted in one week. You could have 3 exams in a row on the same day. Morning, afternoon and night. And so, you would really need to go crazy studying the day before. Praise God, I managed. After I wrote my last paper I went back to my graduate student apartment and lay on my bed resting before I went to eat two dinners at a Chinese restaurant near the campus. The restaurant must have thought I was crazy to eat two meals. And maybe I was, after a crazy time in the exams. Paul the Apostle was also thought to be crazy from all his learnings.
Now as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!”
The Roman governor could not understand or accept what Paul had to say. King Agrippa on the other hand appeared to be convinced about what Paul had to say. He was ready to let him go. Paul appeared to be a fanatic and mad to one person, but sane and convincing to another. But he was certainly not viewed as a liar because no one would go through the suffering that Paul did without a reason.
Are you mad? Are you mad about Jesus? I cannot lie about my faith because Jesus has showed up in my life. I cannot be mad in the bad sense of the word. And so you have to be convinced about what Jesus has done for me, and what He can do for you. I recently had a chat with my daughter. It is clear that in the workplace people have a great interest in you because of your faith. For that reason they look for reasons to speak badly about your faith or the professional work that you do. But at the same time, like King Agrippa and Governor Festus with Paul, many are quietly admiring you.
Father, I am mad about you!
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