Tuesday 16 October 2007

And there were preaching the gospel there

“And they were preaching the gospel there.” - Act 14v7

“You can’t keep a good man down,” they say and there has never been a better example of this than Paul and Barnabas. The pattern became clear on their first missionary journey. They would go into a town and preach, there would be great interest, some would be saved, the Jews would get upset and lie about them, and they would be run out of town.

We have a hint of their attitude when in the middle of all this we read that they were “full of joy and of the Holy Spirit.” There were not about to be deterred. In fact it almost seems like they relished the opposition. When chased off to a new region we read the words, “and they were preaching the gospel there.” It was just a part of their fibre. It seems as much a part of their lives as breathing.

This kind of reading puts me to shame. This reading in Acts has really challenged my heart. I wonder how many of us have the same kind of fire and determination that Paul and Barnabas had. I wonder what would happen if we did?

1 comment:

Parrowdigm said...

'The one who's forgiven the greatest loves the most.'

Amen