THURSDAY 4.13.23 It’s Not the End of the Story – Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:1-8
Luke wrote not one book, but two. Jesus’ story went on directly into “volume 2,” the book of Acts. Jesus charged his followers to witness to him, but not just with their own courage or cleverness. They were to wait for the Holy Spirit’s power. Jesus’ “marching orders” were clear, but they must have felt breathtaking and daunting to the small group of disciples (about 120—cf. Acts 1:15). They’re still our orders, and still breathtaking: “make disciples of all nations….to the end of the earth.”
Reflection
• Surely God could have written Jesus’ story in the clouds or spoken it from the skies. But God’s divine wisdom made people (us!) the main means to carry out the mission: “You will be my witnesses.” How did Jesus’ vision make it central for his family of believers to always keep a mission-driven, outward focus for their life together? Whose witness has shaped your life? In what ways can/could you live out Jesus’ commission to be one of his witnesses?
• Jesus ordered his disciples “not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for what the Father had promised.” We Americans often feel driven and impatient. Has it ever been hard for you to remember that Jesus order not to try to do his work on your own, without God’s power, applies to you, too? How could “going it alone” hinder, not advance, God’s mission, or hinder your spiritual growth?
Prayer: Jesus, I love your audacity in telling 120 people in a small Roman province to reach “to the end of the earth.” I love the Holy Spirit’s power that goes with that mission. Fill me with that vision and that Spirit. Amen.