Life as a Grape

When the apostle Paul and his traveling companion, Silas, were thrown into a dark prison cell, they did something very strange: they sang songs of praise. When Jesus was upon the Cross—beaten, abused, bleeding, mocked, reviled—He did a strange thing: He loved, He forgave, and He died for His murderers. The world does not know what to do with such behavior. When a man is squeezed, most commonly it is pride, anger, frustration, bitterness, and self-defensiveness that comes streaming out of him. But not the Christian man. Out of the Christian man streams life—the life of Jesus Christ.