Scattered


"...A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. ... But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went." Acts 8:1-4

When our family gets together these days, numbered among us is one dog, one puppy, and one fully mobile 1 year old granddaughter. The three of them are quite the friend group/partners in crime, full of energy and into everything. It doesn't take long for them to take all that's within reach and scatter it all throughout the house -- shoes, clothes, toys, water bottles and the like. They serve as a tangible reminder of life. 

It didn't take long for the same group of violent religious leaders who killed Jesus to continue their attacks against Jesus' followers. They murdered a Spirit-filled man named Stephen and began to actively pursue more. As a result, this initial group of Jesus followers were scattered. No more safe holy huddles. The time for testing had come. In the midst of their being scattered, something remarkable happened. They told everyone everywhere they went about Jesus. The scattering led to salvation.  

We may or may not be driven from our homes, chased down, and imprisoned for our faith like many of our fellow Jesus followers experience in other parts of the world. We are, however, supposed to be scattered. "Go into all the world", Jesus said. Why? Jesus answered that question with, "and preach the Good News to everyone." Faithfulness to the call to tell others about Jesus is the tangible sign of spiritual life. 

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