Slideshow image

If you’re being honest, how many of you would willingly walk into a dangerous situation, knowing the outcome could be quite grim for you? How many of you would step into a restaurant that you know is being hijacked by criminals and attempt to get a table and order some food? If we’re all being honest, unless it was unavoidably necessary to save a loved one, none of us would immediately jump at such an opportunity. We would just go to a different restaurant.

In Acts 13 and 14, Paul the Apostle and Barnabas, as they were out spreading the gospel throughout different regions, faced what we could call their hijacked restaurant moment.

During their ministry travels, Paul and Barnabas faced lots of opposition from certain Jews in Antioch in Pisidia and the region of Iconium. And as Paul and Barnabas continued their mission in Lystra, those Jews sought after them, and they ended up stoning Paul and dragging him out of the city where he was preaching. Now, when this happened, the first response that seems reasonable is that Paul and Barnabas should never go back to those areas. After all, they had stoned Paul and left him for dead. Going back would be the last thing Paul and Barnabas should do, right? However, within Scripture, we see the complete opposite of this happen. In Acts 14:21, after some time of preaching in Derbe, the Bible says Paul and Barnabas RETURNED to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. The areas where they were threatened, stoned, and left for dead were the exact areas they were going back to.

When I read this, it convicted me to see this type of commitment and love for the gospel message. Regardless of how “foolish” it seemed to go back to such a dangerous place, Paul and Barnabas saw the spreading of the gospel as more important than their own safety and comfort. And this got me thinking, “How often is my heart willing to let the gospel be more important than my comfort and safety?” Am I willing to sacrifice anything and everything for the sake of Jesus? Am I willing to be inconvenienced in significant and insignificant ways to be a part of spreading Jesus to the world around me?

Often, I fear that we as believers today—myself included—have become so reluctant to do what is difficult or even frightening for the sake of the gospel that actions like those of Paul and Barnabas are viewed as unusual or even foolish.Rather than following Jesus while being inconvenienced and even put at risk, it’s viewed as following Him when my ease and comforts are not threatened. I’m not saying it’s wrong to have comforts in this life; we don't need to feel guilty for having such things. However, if we are unwilling to change and flex our lives in uncomfortable ways for the purpose of the gospel going forward, then we have missed the goal as Christians.

Jesus and His gospel message should always trump our human conveniences. Not to sound unkind, because I’m speaking to myself mostly, if Paul and Barnabas didn’t allow the threat of their very lives to stop them from continuing forward in the gospel, we shouldn’t let the threat of a change in our schedule, or a threat to our hobbies, stop us from spreading the gospel message. True, authentic Christianity means full commitment to Jesus, not just commitment when it works for me.

Jesus told His followers to take up their cross and follow Him. He didn’t say, “Take up your cross and follow Me unless your life is threatened.” If we are followers of Jesus today, my challenge for us today is to follow Him all the way and let nothing stand in the way of pursuing the furtherance of His gospel message.

Serving Together, 

Bro. Luke