Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” Acts 11:1-3
The Book of Acts (or Acts of the Apostles) is important to us because it records what the followers of Jesus did after His resurrection. It tells the first stories of their evangelism, the sharing of the Good News with the world. They didn’t just sit around and talk about what Jesus taught, they went and taught His lessons to others.
As we can see from this passage, even early on there was disagreement about how the church should grow, who should go share the Word and to whom. Jesus knew we would have different opinions, but He modeled the way to witness by eating with sinners Himself, and caring for those that society shunned.
We face similar issues today, but we must remember that under the Great Commission He gave us to “go and make disciples of all the world” (Matthew 28:19), no one is to be left out. Jesus wants all of God’s children invited back into relationship, part of the plan of salvation. We are all uniquely gifted and called to different places and ways of service. No one should question another’s mission, but prayerfully support God’s work through them.
Gracious God, we don’t always see the same needs or the same solutions to the problems we face. Help us understand that you have a special outreach for all of us and to lift up our brothers and sisters in their service. Amen.