The Originals, Week 2, Day 1

WEEK 2 | BARNABAS

BARNABAS AND THE GENTILES

ACTS 11:19-24

Faith in God has been central to the American story in every
generation, going back to the first settlers and the days before the
founding of our republic. The creation of our country was an
enterprise in spiritual as well as political freedom and this truth is
written into our constitutional documents and our Declaration of
Independence. Our founders were sincerely convinced that
Almighty God was at work in time and history, through and
beyond his human servants.

This belief nearly foundered early in the history of the Church. In
Acts, we see a reluctance on the part of the Jewish leadership of
the first Christian community to reach out to the Gentile world
with the grace and love of Christ, even though he had
commissioned them for a worldwide mission. But God was at
work outside of their expectations, and Gentiles beyond Jerusalem
began to come to faith. Barnabas was sent to investigate. His
validation opened a future for the work of God beyond Israel and
into the wider world, including Europe and eventually America.

Has God ever worked outside the box for you?

Thank God for our country today and its marvelous freedoms.

Tags: mission