Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: Acts 5 and Psalm 73

¹³ No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.

What a wonderfully confusing statement: No one dared join them, nevertheless, more and more believed in the Lord and were added to their number.

This early Christian community was so significantly living out their faith in Jesus that, even though outsiders could see how great the cost of discipleship was, even though they knew how the believers were being persecuted, and even though their desire for an easy and unchallenging life kept them from joining on a whim … still many of them came to a moment where they could no longer resist the magnetic attraction of the Good News of Jesus, which they were seeing lived out before their very eyes.

We should realise from this reading that our job as disciples is not to make Christianity look palatable and easy and attractive so that outsiders find it cool or cosy to join. No! Our job is to live with such radical faithfulness to Jesus in our words and deeds, that HE becomes irresistibly attractive to others. We should not be trying to attract people to join US … we should only ever be aiming to make the wondrous reality of the risen Jesus so irresistible to others through our words and deeds that they will be drawn to HIM!

Life application: What one small thing can you change in your life today that will make you that little bit more like Jesus in word and deed … and therefore that little more accurate a reflection of His beauty to others? Do it. And if you do it, He will use it.