Press the arrow to listen to Brandon Heath sing “Give Me Your Eyes” while reading today’s devotion about agreeing with disagreeable people.

Scripture
“‘I am on trial before you today because I believe in the resurrection of the dead!’” Acts 24:21

Observation
Paul survived the jaws of justice and received an all-expenses-paid journey to Rome for a personal audience with the Emperor Nero because he ran to the common ground.

In each of his court hearings, Paul did not let the prosecutor or the judge define the charges against him. Paul did that. “‘I am on trial before you today because I believe in the resurrection of the dead!’”

Paul could have said, “I am on trial today because I have faith that God has raised Jesus from the dead.” But that would have been politically unwise. That was a region of argument that was in contention.

Instead, Paul searched for the one truth that brought all arguing parties together. Paul, the Jewish leaders and King Agrippa all agreed on one thing: this life is not the end but the beginning of a new life for eternity. They all believed in the resurrection.

Paul ran to this common ground in his arguments and worked through the tangles of debate right to Caesar’s Palace.

Application
Each one of us is Paul in court as we defend Christ in the marketplace. It is so easy to run to contentious ground that pits red against blue, black against white, north against south, east against west, young against old and on and on. What if we had the agility to seek common ground and to work outward from there? Instead of being right and lonely, we might find ourselves communicating in the company of the world’s most influential people.

Prayer
Father, today help me to seek common ground. Often I want to jump behind the comfortable battle lines. Help me to see beyond them strategic opportunities of taking the kingdom of God forward. Show me common ground. Amen.