Acts 25:11 (ESV) – ”If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar.”
For several
decades, writers on leadership – both Christian and secular – have attributed
vision-casting as one of the key skills of great leaders. These leaders
envision a great future for the organizations they lead, share them with the
people of those organizations in a clear and compelling way, then lead the now
motivated people and the whole organizations forward to make vision a reality.
As wonderful as this picture is, reality is usually a whole lot messier.
This idea of
vision assumes all necessary components and resources to bring that vision to
reality are available to the leader. Yet, that is almost never the case. So
many people and circumstances are out of control. Some leaders have shifted
away from a priority of vision-casting to opportunism: seeking to recognize and
take advantage of opportunities when they appear. An extreme version of this
opportunism can dismiss planning of any type as futile. Surfers cannot create
they waves they love. Yet, even the surfer waiting for the opportunity of a big
wave has to plan enough to be on the beach with surfboard in hand to catch that
wave when it comes.
How Paul wound
up in Rome is an interesting example of a combination of vision and
opportunism. As we saw in an earlier PowerWords, Acts 23:11 describes Jesus
appearing to Paul and giving him a clear vision of testifying for him in Rome.
Notice that the vision Jesus gave did not include a plan on how to get to Rome
or a timeline of when it would happen. Jesus also did not tell Paul to figure
it out for himself. For two years (Acts 24:27) nothing seemed to happen that
was making that vision any more real or bringing it any closer as Paul withered
away in the Caesarean prison.
Then, a change
of governors meant that Paul had a chance to speak to those in power and share
his story. He knew, as Roman citizen, he had a right to appeal to Caesar. He
knew that, as a provincial governor, Porcius Festus had the authority to grant
the appeal. Luke does not tell us if Paul had been strategically planning to
use this as the way to make the God-given vision a reality or if Paul
spontaneously reacted to a way to avoid the risk of death at the hands of the
Jews as they plotted to kill him on the way to Jerusalem (Acts 25:3 & 9).
Either way, both the circumstances and the ultimate journey to Rome were out of
Paul’s control. Yet, he had one thing he could do at that moment in time, and
he took advantage of that opportunity. He appealed to Caesar, and he got to
Rome. The vision became a reality.
So many things
we enjoy in life today came because someone had a vision, developed a plan, and
led others to make that vision happen. Yet, much of what each of us deals with
is beyond our control. We cannot control everything, but we can control some
things. It is important to have our plans ready, but do not miss the unexpected
opportunities when they come.
