The last 6 weeks have been a whirlwind! I didn’t even realize that they had passed so quickly until my boys brought home their first report cards! Wow! Life in general the last 6 weeks has flown by, yet if you’ve been following this blog, the last 6 weeks have also taken us through around 30 years of church history. We’ve been exploring the book of Acts and looking at the people,places, and journey’s that make up the first few decades of the movement that would forever alter the world!
I mentioned in my first blog after we started this class that I love this book. I’ve studied it critically off and on for the last 15 years. Each year, I discover something new and something that makes me love the story even more. Each time I read through the book, I get to chapter 28 and ask what’s next? The book just kind of ends abruptly and anticlimactically. I feel that in some way I’ve been slighted by not having the end of the story. That’s when I have to remember that the book of Acts isn’t supposed to have an end. It’s supposed to keep going on and on through new followers of Jesus – a new crop of folks like Peter, Paul, Lydia, Priscilla, Aquilla, Cornelius, Philip, and Barnabas.
Along with this reminder, I’m taking another lesson for this year’s study – intentionality. That seems to be a buzz word right now in my life. I look at the life of Paul and Peter, the movement of the early church, and I see this directness and focus that sometimes takes my breath away. I know this may come as a bit of a shock for some of you, but I som
etimes have problems with focusing. (Go ahead and take a minute to laugh, it’s okay). I get distracted really quickly. I think it’s why I love driving around so much – You’re always engaged when you’re on the road, there’s something always going on.
I’m not alone with this plight – a lot of folks have issues with distraction and focus, many with far worse problems than mine. I even think that some of the very folks in the book of Acts were a little ADD sometimes. The difference that I find in Acts isn’t the behavior of the individuals as much as it is the clear focus the scope of their entire mission has. They’re not just floating from here to there – they’re on a mission. They’re not just on a mission when they’re on THE mission but also when they are doing regular stuff. When Paul’s earning money as a tentmaker, he’s on a mission. When Peter is hungry and waiting for his lunch, he’s on the mission. When the disciples are in jail or being persecuted, they’re on the mission. When they’re preaching, walking, allowing the Holy Spirit to move through them in healing, when they’re on boats, land or wherever they find themselves – they are on the Mission.
I think this is a key for us in the 21st century – as individuals and as the Church Universal. We have a million and a half issues that are prying for our attention. It’s like distraction is the norm. Yet, I wonder what would happen if we took up that kind of missional focus? What would your life look like the rest of this day and this week, if you thought of everything that you were doing was part of the Mission?
Maybe, just maybe, that kind of focus, infused with a Spirit-filled flexibility would inspire others to write yet another chapter in the
book of ACTS? A chapter that would tell our story through the Acts of the Holy Spirit in us!
Grace and Peace!