Craig T. Owens

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The Christians could have used the “great persecution” that broke out against them (Acts 8:1) as a great excuse to hide or to remain quiet. After all, Saul and his hoard were specifically targeting those who were known to be Christians, so keeping quiet or out of sight might have saved their lives. 

Instead, these fearless Christians used this great persecution as a messenger from God to keep them on-mission in fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8), taking the Gospel to even the despised Samaritans (Acts 8:4)! 

Would they have taken this message to these folks without this “nudge” of persecution? Maybe, but then again, maybe they would have stayed in Jerusalem and delayed too long in sharing with those who lived in the capital city. It’s a really good bet that without this persecution they wouldn’t have come up with the idea of going to Samaria on their own!

I think we can learn some good lessons from this incident. When unexpected difficulties crash into our lives, let’s re-frame our thinking. Instead of using this hardship as an excuse to do less, let’s ask:

• Do I need to re-evaluate what I have (or haven’t) been doing? Do I need to repent of anything? 
• Am I on-mission as a Christian witness? Am I consistently using my God-given gifts in God-glorifying ways to point others to Jesus? 
• How can I live out and proclaim the Word of God even in this unexpected place? 

Let’s be like those Christians who didn’t grumble, who didn’t hide, who didn’t make excuses. But they said, “This is just another opportunity for us to invite people to meet Jesus as their Lord and Savior,” and then they joyfully moved forward. 

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