An Appointment with Caesar

"Do not be afraid Paul; you must be brought before Caesar ..." 

Acts 27:24a [NKJV]

by Peggy Blann Phifer

I think I was about eleven years old walking home from school one day with my little brother and sister, and some of the other children going in the same direction.

At the time, we attended a rural, one-room school, all eight grades, I kid you not. I won't tell you how long ago that was ... one must keep some secrets, right?

Anyway, on the corner opposite the school building, was a little country store where the proprietor's always welcomed us kids after school. They kept a bin of various penny-candy where we could help ourselves to enjoy on our walk home.

But this particular day, for some perverse reason, I wasn't satisfied with their offerings. So I wandered over to where the real candy was and slipped a Baby Ruth candy bar into my pocket. We had a quarter-mile walk ahead, so I dawdled behind the others and surreptitiously ate my stolen treat.

Mothers are omniscient, you know? They know everything. It wasn't long before Mom somehow knew (how do they do that?) about that candy bar. Tattle-tale's maybe, or more likely it was a little bit of chocolate lodged in the corner of my mouth.

I was promptly hauled out to the car and driven back to that little store where I had to confess my theft, and pay for it with a nickel from my piggy bank ... all the while trembling with fear. Of the owner, perhaps, or maybe what Daddy would do when he came home after work.

In the verse above, the Apostle Paul was a prisoner on a storm-tossed ship headed for Rome. They feared sinking, but the Lord assured Paul he wasn't going to die because he had an appointment with Caesar. (Read Acts 27)

I was a prisoner of my own sin, and my Caesar was that store owner whose trust I'd betrayed, and ... eventually ... my dad. God saw to it I kept my 'appointment.'

Prayer Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us even when we do wrong. Because of Your unconditional love, I know I don't need to fear confessing my sins to You because You always stand ready to forgive. This child of Yours is grateful that with You, sins confessed are remembered no more. Amen.