Acts 13:42-52 (NIV)
Imagine the people who are misfits in your church, chapter, or community, what would you feel if they became the majority in your group?
This is what we see begin to happen in today’s passage on Daily Read. You see the reason Paul tells the story the way he does, is to help people see that the whole point was for Jesus to do for Israel what they could not do for themselves. That it’s in Jesus that God would fulfill Israel’s vocation to be a blessing to all the nations. It’s happened, the promise that was made to Abraham has been radically released in the narrative, and the reaction of the people whose whole identity was centered on that promise was jealousy.
It’s getting more and more difficult to be a follower of Jesus in our world today who can’t see the tensions that exist within the church across racial, cultural, economic, and political lines. Like the rest of the world we have tended to retreat to our corners and huddle up. Those of us who are in churches or chapters with a large majority and a small minority might find this passage especially challenging. What would you be tempted to feel if all of a sudden your identity group became the extreme minority? Think about your community and imagine it flipping or getting a rapid growth of people who’ve never been a part of it before. Be honest with yourself…
----------REFLECT----------
1. What moment in this passage stood out to you?
2. The promise of God to Abraham was to make his descendants a blessing to all the nations. Yet, here we find that moment beginning to happen and the reaction is jealousy. This shows that they had lost sight of the important things. Where might you, your church, your chapter or your community be at risk of losing sight of the main things?
3. Consider moments when you’ve reacted to the movement of the Holy spirit with Jealousy. Take a moment to repent of that, and then take the rest of the day to consider what it would be like to meet even the most costly movements of the Spirit with joy and gladness.
----------GO DEEPER----------
Bible Project: Acts 13-28 Overview >>
InterVarsity Press Selections: Acts >>
----------CONNECT----------
Find an InterVarsity Chapter >>
Start an InterVarsity Chapter >>
Learn More >>
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free