“So those who were scattered went on their way preaching the word.” (Acts 8:4)
The roller coaster ride continues through Acts, and we just read about the stoning of Stephen, the great persecution against the believers, and Saul leading the charge in all of this. Just like the season finale of your favorite TV show, you are left wondering what will happen next season (unless you binge watch a TV series on Netflix and you find out in 20 seconds). So, verse 4 reads, “Those who were scattered went on their way preaching the word.” This verse immediately follows all the persecution and the scattering of believers. It sounds anti-climatic, but we see later that there are some interesting adventures that ensue.
Today, let’s focus on verse 4 and hopefully we will take this short verse into our heart and lives today. We see that the end result of all that happened before was for the glory of God. All of this persecution served to help spread the Gospel message abundantly and into far reaching areas. These followers of Jesus weren’t formal preachers or seminary graduates. These were ordinary folks like you and me. So don’t get thrown off by the wording of “preaching the word.” These folks were simply sharing the Good News. They were sharing what they witnessed about the Holy Spirit changing people’s lives.
We are called to be like these early Christians. We are scattered and placed where God has already ordained us to be in. We get to spread the Good News of what Jesus has done in our lives. We all have friendships with coworkers, family members, and people in our community that no one else has. God is in the business of saving these people and drawing them to a relationship with Jesus. God can use us to help bring lost people to salvation and hope in Jesus Christ. How? By sharing how Jesus has changed and transformed your life. When people who knew you before coming to Christ see the change in your lifestyle, it will cause them to wonder and they will want this change, too. Let’s seize these opportunities to start spreading the Good News of Jesus, so that more people will find joy, hope, and everlasting life in Christ.