Tentmakers...By Rebecca

“And he [Paul] found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them. So, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for by occupation they were tentmakers.” ~ Acts 18:2-3

 

A tentmaker. According to the world, the apostle Paul was a wanderer – constantly being falsely accused, beaten, imprisoned, and driven out of town, at that – who supported himself by the unpretentious profession of tentmaking. Bear in mi...nd that Paul was once Saul of Tarsus, the Hebrew of Hebrews, circumcised on the eighth day, a Pharisee, humanly blameless concerning the Mosaic Law, and so zealous for “God” that he literally breathed threats and murder against believers. (Philippians 3:3-7, Acts 9:1-2) Paul’s credentials are extensive. If anyone could have confidence in the flesh, he wrote in Philippians 3, it would be him. Paul was born a Roman citizen (Acts 22:28), so he was probably from a well-off and possibly wealthy family. He was orthodox to the extreme, “brought up in this city [Jerusalem] at the feet of Gamaliel” (Acts 22:3-5) – a prominent rabbi of the time. Studying Paul’s letters reveals him to be a brilliant logician, writer, and debater. What we know of his life as an unbeliever implies that Paul was politically connected and a rising star in Jerusalem. Before the Damascus Road, this man was well on his way to reaching the absolute height of worldly achievement possible for him to obtain.

But he gave it up for tentmaking?

The world would, at best, view Paul with pity. “What a waste! Think of all he could have had and become!” Some might consider him certifiably insane. Others would hold him in contempt, mocking, scorning, and deriding his choices.

I can guarantee you this: Paul could not have cared less what anyone thought. In his own words, found in Philippians 3:7-9, “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him…”

The answer is right there in Paul’s profession: tentmaking. This life is temporary, a passing, fleeting thing; a tent. My flesh is just a tent. This world is a tent that one day the Lord will roll up like a scroll (Isaiah 34:4), and all the things the world values, whether possessions, looks, prestige, power, self, comfort, etc., will perish. They won’t matter. They won’t be beneficial. Paul lived for what mattered: the light of eternity, Jesus Christ.

Does that mean we all need to be low-income, despised wanderers to be living for eternity? No, not necessarily. The Lord has a destiny for each one of His beloved children, specially tailored, and ordained before we were even born. What you are in world is irrelevant; what matters is whether you are following Jesus. Everything that is not done in Him is indeed loss.

This world is not my home. My body is dust – via rib – and to dust it will return. Every breath brings me closer to eternity. What manner of person ought I to be? What mind should I have? Where should my eyes be fixed?

Romans 14:23, “…for whatever is not from faith is sin.”

Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

2 Corinthians 12:9, “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”