Seeds of a Shift

ACTS IN 90 DAYS

A reading for Thursday, July 9, 2020: Acts 13:13-52.

"Then both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles." 

It's a profound shift in the history of the world. Paul and Barnabas were invited to speak in the synagogue about Jesus of Nazareth and the mighty acts of God. But they were rejected, and heard the message as God's mandate to evangelize the Gentiles. The world has never been the same since...

It's likely that Paul and Barnabas did not know the magnitude of the change they were instigating with their faith and their work. I imagine Paul would find it ridiculous and even humorous that his letters were still being read today in Christian worship. Yet, the world changed because of his actions.

It's been said that we are living through the five hundred year shift. About every five hundred years, Christianity goes through a massive shift. Five hundred years ago was the Protestant Reformation. Five hundred years before that was the split between eastern and western church known as the Great Schism. Five hundred years before that the church left Rome as center and was spreading into Europe, Great Britain and Ireland. And of course five hundred years before that Paul and Barnabas preached in Antioch and Pisidia.

In each case, those participating had no idea they were living into the future of faith. We too are the same. Consider the life and the faith you live today as seeds for future generations. Thanks be to God!