Abide Devotion for January 21, 2015

Acts 14:21-15:5

²¹ They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, ²² strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. ²³ Paul and Barnabas appointed elders ^a for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. ²⁴ After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, ²⁵ and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.

²⁶ From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. ²⁷ On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. ²⁸ And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.

^15:1Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” ² This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. ³ The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. ⁴ When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.

⁵ Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.” ^[1]

___________________

What strikes me in today’s passage is Paul’s saying that “we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” Now, he’s not saying that these hardships are entrance exams, or qualification tests. But rather the path toward fulfilling the work of the kingdom, the path we walk between now and the full fulfillment of the kingdom, will be a path of hardships.

Note that Paul is saying this to churches that he and Barnabas had started in towns which had persecuted them. No doubt the persecution and opposition was ongoing.

The hardships come not only from those outside the church. When Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch, they faced opposition from within as voices rose challenging the welcoming of Gentiles who had not been circumcised. Many hardships indeed.

This passage is a reminder that the path of a disciple is not an easy one. The work to which Christ calls us is difficult, lined with “many hardships.” Why? Why doesn’t God make it easier to carry out His mission? Why still so much hardship today?

I cannot presume to know the mind of God on this matter, but can only point to the truth that when we face hardship in carrying out the mission, we are following Christ, carrying our crosses behind him, and participating in His work. Jesus said in John 15:20 “Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.”

As we go through hardship for the sake of the kingdom, we are being shaped into the image of Christ.

This passage is a reminder that hardship while working for the kingdom is normal. It’s about realistic expectations. As we set out to serve the kingdom, whether it’s by witnessing in daily life, or making an offering to support a mission, or serving in a more dramatic servant role, we are to go into it expecting difficulties along the way.

But we also go into it knowing, that as we are taking up the work of Christ, and sharing in the experiences of Christ, we are accompanied by the presence of Christ, and His constant blessing upon us.

So my prayer today is for faith and perseverance in any hardship I face for the sake of the kingdom. I’m also praying today for those who face overt opposition for their faith, that God strengthen them for their kingdom work.

 

What is the Word leading you to pray about today?

To subscribe to Abide Daily Devotion e-mail please click here.

^[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Ac 14:21–15:5). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.