Holy, Just and Long-suffering Job.
Acts 17:1-15. John 11:47-57.
Read Acts 17:1-15
Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!
Today’s Epistle demonstrates to us some of the tumult that the Apostles experienced on account of Christ and, perhaps more important, important wisdom about how to navigate that tumult.
Paul and Silas tirelessly went from place to place preaching the Gospel of Christ and are in many ways the evangelists par excellence. They preached Christ simply, directly, and with conviction.
Some people would come to faith via their preaching, others wouldn’t. Others yet would find their preaching blasphemous or otherwise offensive. This is the reality we all face too in our own lives as we strive to make Christ known to the people around us, whether or not it involves travelling form place to place.
Paul and Silas also had their time limit—three sabbaths. They wouldn’t dwell in a particular place for longer. They took that time to spread the seed of the Gospel with great conviction and energy and then let the Holy Spirit continue their work. In our case, we may be investing a great deal of energy in walking with someone or some group trying to plant the seed of the Gospel in them. And there comes a time when we need to let go and move on. If the person isn’t coming to faith, we may simply be dealing with infertile soil. Knowing when the time is to move on takes wisdom.
Be bold like Paul and Silas in making Christ known and pray for the wisdom to know where to spend your energy like they did.