Why James and Silas? Part II

Silas Emmett Frymire

     

Well, seeing how perfectly our first plan worked out we planned to have a less detailed plan the second time…you could say that Bethany and I are a little headstrong.  You know how it is right?  When you know you should just trust God, you try to use some of that ole reverse psychology on the Creator of the Universe.  We had always talked about having a second child.  I’m pretty sure it was on my list of things to talk about on our second date.  The timing of getting pregnant with our second baby was thrown off in 2013 when we discovered that Bethany had some physiological abnormalities that related to the inner workings of a system that most everyone automatically assumes is functioning normally if a woman is able to breathe, eat, drink, sleep, have intercourse, and is under 35 years of age.  Yes, I said abnormalities on purpose.  Bethany is ok with it or you would not have read it. So, we could see that this would be no ordinary decision to have a baby and 5 weeks later get confirmation.  It actually took 2 years, a pair of surgeries, help from two specialists, one with a degree and One with the authority to speak a galaxy into existence, to receive that long awaited double red line.

     With James, we knew before he was conceived the name we would use for our first born male child.  With the second baby, do you just go back to the list of passed over names for the first?  That’s not really my style, so we embarked on a process that included prayer and conversations over meals at places like the OK Cafe to narrow down the list of possible names.  We wanted the name to have meaning.  We also were leaning toward a name found in the Bible.  It was not a requirement, but just something Bethany and I thought would be cool.  One thing that was required was a name with less notoriety.  If the name was too high on the popular names list it was significantly lowered on our list of possible names.  When I was little, there were no other Landons.  Oh, I forgot to mention up in James’ section that his middle name is Landon because my first name is Landon.  Sorry to leave you hanging.  But now, due to my fame and unmistakable influence on our society, the name Landon has become much more commonplace.  There just wasn’t a name that jumped off the screen as we perused the unpopular male baby names for 2014. That’s when I shared a name that had been floating around in my head for several weeks.

     It was a Wednesday night when James came running up the preschool hall at church after his discipleship class.  He seemed particularly excited to tell me about the story they had just studied.  Incidentally, while your children are young, one of the most important things you can do is demonstrate a genuine interest in what your child is learning about God.  Stop what you’re doing, kneel down, and look at the construction paper creation that seems to make no sense at all and begin validating the importance of what they are doing at church.  James said the Bible story was about “Paul and Syruss" (Sigh - russ).  Of course what James meant to say was Paul and Silas.  That night they had studied Acts 16:16-40, particularly focusing on the deliverance from their prison chains by a mighty earthquake.  There was just something about the way James said the name Silas that stuck with me - something about the interest he took in the story.  I agreed that the story was awesome and reinforced the truth of God’s extraordinary power and busted out with a full rendition of Awesome God complete with sign language and hand movements from the late 90’s (just kidding but that would have been awesome).  So, the seed had been planted, and over the next few weeks, it would grow and eventually be confirmed through prayer that Silas would be the name of our second little boy.

    As I studied the history of the man named Silas in the New Testament, I became more and more convinced that God was sending us a Silas for a reason.  Silas is an oft forgotten character in the modern church.  Many recall him being present in the Philippian jail with Paul, but we are seldom exposed to his relationships with the other apostles.  We are first introduced to Silas, or Silvanus, as it is represented in Latin, in Acts 15:22.  He was described as a “leading man among the brothers.”  He was considered to be an important figure in the Jerusalem church.  The significance of this seemingly insignificant fact is the Jerusalem Church was led by a man named…wait for it…James.  The half-brother of Jesus played an important part in confirming the Lordship of Jesus to a people who were struggling with the concept of a suffering and rejected Messiah.  After all, it wasn’t until after Jesus’ death and resurrection that he believed his brother.  Silas served and led under James’ leadership before being sent out to accompany Paul on his second missionary journey.  Silas would work with Paul in the cities of Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, and Corinth.  He is mentioned by Paul with Timothy as a part of the trio that worked their way across Asia Minor strengthening churches in 1 Thessalonians 1:1 and 2 Thessalonians 1:1.  His last appearance is made in 1 Peter.  Some scholars believe that Silas spent significant time with Peter in North Asia.  That would make 3 apostles having Silas as a helper and support.  This is where the story concludes and when I show you the verse I think you will understand.  Silas was obviously a very gifted man.  He was said to be well gifted in the languages.  He knew how to influence men.  He gave his life to serving the Messiah.  His love for Jesus enabled him to serve without the spotlight and focus.  He lived out his faith, and by doing so, the men you do remember were used to record the greatest and most influential letters ever written.  So, how did Silas live out his faith?  By being a good brother.  He sacrificed, persevered, and suffered not only for the sake of his Savior but also for his brothers.  He sat chained to his brother, Paul, in that Philippian jail.  He was beaten along with Paul for his participation and active role in preaching the Gospel (Acts 14:4, 2 Corinthians 1:19).  He fled Thessalonica with Paul when the angry mob threatened and was later chased down by that same angry mob in Berea. I could go on, but I think you get the picture.  Silas was an awesome man used by God to support and encourage his brothers.  There aren’t many things I want more than to witness my boys supporting each other as they attempt to boldly follow Jesus in an increasingly unsupportive world.  I want to hear of their passionate defense of the other, to see them disagree but graciously sacrifice for the other, to support each other with a love not only present because they share the same parents, but because they have submitted to the only One with the authority to call them out as men with a divinely ordained purpose.  God knew that Paul would need help, so He sent him Silas.  Peter, yes even the “Rock”, needed a faithful brother.  And, of course, God didn’t forget about James.

¹² With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.

1 Peter 5:12