Acts 13b What We must Share about Jesus

Holman New Testament Commentary: Acts III. Conclusion: The Task Is so Small

The Task Is So Small

I have heard it said that Billy Graham was at Lausanne during the now famous and historic moon shot of earth when the cameras in the space capsule aimed back at that beautiful blue sphere. Since then, the picture has appeared in thousands of places. We have grown accustomed to seeing ourselves as part of the solar system in what could almost be called an out-of-planet perspective. Seeing it for the first time thrilled all of us, and those present with Billy by the television set that day said he responded by saying, “God, it’s so small; let’s just reach out and take it.”

I’m unable to verify the story, but the response certainly sounds like Billy and every aggressive missionary from the first century to the twenty-first. From our perspective in any given locale on the globe, the task looks enormous. We think about language school, deputation, acculturation, and a thousand other problems that we face in sending out missionaries. All of them are real, challenging problems!

Somehow the global vision must be seen from above—from God’s perspective. It is, after all, his world; and we are, as Paul so clearly put it, his light to the people who live on the globe. Surely he can overcome all the obstacles we face in sharing his grace with the lost. Oh that God would give us greater vision, broader horizons of ministry. That he would enable us to say with Billy, “God it’s so small; let’s just reach out and take it.”

Billy G

The Task Is So Small

I have heard it said that Billy Graham was at Lausanne during the now famous and historic moon shot of earth when the cameras in the space capsule aimed back at that beautiful blue sphere. Since then, the picture has appeared in thousands of places. We have grown accustomed to seeing ourselves as part of the solar system in what could almost be called an out-of-planet perspective. Seeing it for the first time thrilled all of us, and those present with Billy by the television set that day said he responded by saying, “God, it’s so small; let’s just reach out and take it.”

I’m unable to verify the story, but the response certainly sounds like Billy and every aggressive missionary from the first century to the twenty-first. From our perspective in any given locale on the globe, the task looks enormous. We think about language school, deputation, acculturation, and a thousand other problems that we face in sending out missionaries. All of them are real, challenging problems!

Somehow the global vision must be seen from above—from God’s perspective. It is, after all, his world; and we are, as Paul so clearly put it, his light to the people who live on the globe. Surely he can overcome all the obstacles we face in sharing his grace with the lost. Oh that God would give us greater vision, broader horizons of ministry. That he would enable us to say with Billy, “God it’s so small; let’s just reach out and take it.”

Elliot

The Day the Disciples Carried Stones

Elizabeth Elliott, herself a missionary of the highest stature, tells a story, a fable, about the day Jesus asked the disciples to carry stones. In the morning he told them to find a stone which they would carry all day. We can imagine them selecting the lightest and smallest they could find.

As the story unfolds, that night Jesus and the disciples made camp. At mealtime the disciples asked what to do with the stones. Jesus told them, “I’m glad you asked. I will now turn those stones to bread, and that will be your evening meal.” As the disciples ate the few bites they had carried throughout the day, they pledged never to be caught in such a dilemma again.

Sure enough, the next day Jesus asked them in the morning to pick up stones and carry them all day. What a day! Lugging heavy boulders from place to place with the happy anticipation of a full meal that night.

When they made camp, the disciples asked the same question, but this time the Lord’s answer was different. “The stones? Just place them over there in a pile. We don’t need them anymore.” When the protestations and complaining had died down, Jesus had only one question for the disciple band: “For whom did you carry your stone today?”

Certainly I have taken some liberties in retelling the story, but the basic idea remains the same. Effective missionaries, pastors, deacons, elders, Sunday school teachers, and disciples of all kinds do what they do for the glory of Christ, not for their own benefit. In this chapter Paul and Barnabas left home to travel for Jesus’ sake. They entered into confrontation with a wild-eyed sorcerer for Jesus’ sake. They proclaimed the gospel to hesitant Jews for Jesus’ sake. They endured persecution at Pisidian Antioch for Jesus’ sake. The result was not pain and complaining, but rather rejoicing—even at the difficulty.

We may very well ask ourselves the same question about difficulties in our lives: “For whom did you carry your stone today?” Only when we see Christ at the center of everything we do; only when our motives center on how best to please him; only when we allow the Holy Spirit to fill us as he did Paul and Barnabas will we really be able to say in genuine honesty, “I carried my stone for Jesus.”

V. PRAYER