Rounded Walls

In Acts chapter 26, Paul is giving one of many testimonies in order to assure his innocence of any crime. In this circumstance, he stands before the judge Agrippa. He explains what exactly he believes and how his views of the resurrection of the dead align with those of the Pharisees, and then he tells of his conversion to Christianity.

"I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to [the power of] God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me."

~Acts 26:15-18

 Agrippa's initial reaction is to call Paul a lunatic, but here is Paul's response:

"I am speaking true and rational words. For the king [Agrippa] knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner." ~Acts 26:25-26

Paul basically says that everything he and the church has done in spreading the gospel should not be news, because they have not been preaching to themselves in a corner. On top of that, Paul knows that gossip flies fast wherever he goes, and since this new Jesus thing was a big deal to the traditional (angry) Jews, they would have helped spread the stories already.

This is a good example of how we should live. After a while of being in a new community of people (work, school, family, friends), our values and beliefs should not be a surprise to those around us, as long as we have not kept them in a corner. This also speaks to one of the many steps we have in house-building. Jesus' example shows us who is to be the foundation of the house: the Father. Paul's example shows us what the house should look like: rounded walls with lots of windows and open doors. As long as we strive to follow those two, then all that's left is for our example to be a decent enough blueprint for others to follow in building their own homes in faith!

P.S. Round walls means not so many hanging self-portraits!