The Solid Rock of Information

Today's Reading: Acts 17:10-12

On the night before Halloween in 1938 Orson Welles aired his production “Invasion from Mars,” adapted from H. G. Wells book “War of the Worlds,” on the Columbia Broadcasting System’s dramatic radio show “Mercury Theatre on the Air.”

Using the then familiar and trusted format of important radio news bulletins interrupting live performances, his performers enthralled the nation with the “news” of an invasion from another planet. The lack of commercial interruptions accommodated by the show’s “sustained sponsorship” status added to the impression that the drama was “real” information coming to the listeners live.

Understandably, many tuning in after the show’s introductory disclaimers believed that the world and their lives would be forever changed that night.

Had they heard this broadcast, what might the Bereans have done with that information?

Who are the Bereans? Are they from another planet (other than Mars)? No. Although they were aliens or foreigners, they were from another time, about 2000 years ago, citizens of the Greek town of Berea.

In Acts 17 we read about the Jews who lived in Berea. The mention is brief, but significant, because the apostle Paul was struck by both their willingness to listen to what he had to share about Jesus being the long awaited, rejected, killed and then resurrected Messiah, and their daily diligence in verifying what he shared. Their means of verification was similar to what is done today to “vet” any news that might impact our lives - they turned to the most trusted of sources, the long honored Scriptures from Moses and the prophets.

Their gracious and studious diligence impressed Paul, and paid off. Unlike some of those with whom Paul had shared for weeks in nearby Thessalonica who were ultimately led by their feelings and not the facts, many of the Bereans, after checking out his claims, accepted them for what they were - truth - and responded to those facts with an informed, faith-based response.

Today we are swamped with easily accessed “information” that may seem as authoritative as the Martian invasion “report” on CBS did almost 75 years ago. Much of it has no direct impact on our world or our life. But when it might, we would be wise to be as welcoming and suspicious of life-altering information as those Bereans of old, vetting it in the context of trusted sources, including age-old ones which will allow seemingly safe assumptions to be verified and dependable.

Life is based on and lived out on something - either the shifting sands of opinion and assumption or the rock of information deemed solid by a routine practice of inquiry and conclusion. The results can be far reaching and have a positive affect on one’s own life and many others, as well.

“As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.”

 - gary hixson