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by Glenn Maddox
Chances are good that a lot of our churches expeirenced some kind of mission trip this summer. Whether you were part of a disaster response, and international partnership, a mission camp, or your own church mission trip, you had the opportunity to be a witness to the love of Christ in the community you served. The people to serve, and the way to serve them is always pretty obvious on a mission trip. But the other 51 weeks of the year, it can be much less clear. The same was true in the time of Jesus.
The first place Jesus told his disciples they would be his witnesses was in Jerusalem. On the surface that probably seems like the easiest place because they could view that as “home.” But as we know, probably from our own experience and also from the life of Christ, it’s sometimes hard to go home. When Jesus went home after he had begun his ministry, the people wouldn’t listen to him (Matthew 13:53-58). They took offense at him – maybe because they remembered him as a child, maybe because they couldn’t see him in a role different than the one they had known him in before, maybe just because they didn’t like change.
The same thing can happen to us. If our families, our friends, and even the people in our church see a change that God has made in us, they might have trouble accepting it. They want us to fill the old role that we’ve outgrown or moved beyond, and it can be hard to be taken seriously. Take comfort in knowing that Jesus experienced that too, and continue to do what you know God is calling you to do.
Reflect:
What roles would you like to take in family, among friends, and at church that might be difficult for people to accept you in?
Pray:
God, I thank you for helping me to learn and grow. Help me to persevere even when it’s hard for others to see what you see in me.