Begin with 2 minutes of stillness and silence before God.

“I got a new job!” “We’re getting married!” “We’re expecting a baby!” “My daughter made the cheer team!” “My son is Valedictorian!”

When we have good news, we are excited to tell everyone we know. We want to celebrate with our friends and family and share our joy with them.

In today’s scripture, this is exactly what the believers in Antioch did. Except their good news wasn’t about personal accomplishments or events. Their good news was the life-changing Gospel of Jesus. They had been sharing this news with other Jews, but when they found out the Gospel could be shared with Gentiles also, they went straight to them. These believers didn’t want to keep their good news to themselves, and they didn’t want to keep it among just a few people (the Jews). Their zeal for God and all He had done broke the boundary of race, culture, and even language in order to unify all people in Christ.

I want to have this kind of zeal and excitement for the Gospel. As I read this, I want to be more like these believers. So often, it is easy to take for granted the novelty of the Gospel because I have it in front of me every day and to think that everyone has heard it because it is so familiar to me. It is easy to become complacent about what the Good News means in my life. But for many of the people who had never heard it, it was absolutely life-altering. When these believers from Cyprus and Cyrene found out that it wasn’t against the law for them to share the Gospel with Gentiles, they sought them out. And great numbers of people were brought to the Lord. Just as those in retail are eager to tell us how their product will change our lives, these Jews were eager to tell the Gentiles how their lives could be changed through Jesus.

As I referenced earlier in the week, God’s command to His followers is to “go and make disciples of all nations.” We are to go, to seek out those with whom we can share the Good News of the Gospel, and not just to sit and hope someone asks us about our faith. I want my life to look like the believers in Antioch. I may share Jesus as eagerly and excitedly as I share personal accomplishments or even how good a new restaurant is! I want to be a tiny part of building the Kingdom of Heaven -  one person at a time.

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflections:

• Do others see zeal and excitement for sharing the Gospel in you?
  
• Think about the message of the Gospel and what it means for you. How can you share this with others?