. . . and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. ~ Acts 4:13b
READING: John 1:1-18
In Acts, people testified about Peter and John being with Jesus; they saw certain charisma in them. John’s Gospel says that it was Jesus who came down to be with the disciples (John 1:14a). Who had been with whom? When Jesus dwelt among the disciples, they made use of His nearness and thus gained some positives, which led others to testify that they had been with Jesus.
Paul said, “. . . as I follow Christ, you follow me.” He bore the marks of the cross of Christ. Although he was neither eloquent in his speech nor worldly wise, he was able to impact multitudes, build reproductive leaders and plant churches. People could see Christ when they looked at Paul.
If we have been with Christ, the community around us should endorse our being with Jesus by seeing our beings and doings. We are surrounded by core-leaders, seekers, young believers, mature leaders and unbelievers as we plant churches. Our intimacy with Christ is one of the essentials for impacting the communities around us. If we have been with Jesus, let us distribute His love, purity, humility, forgiveness, tolerance, compassion, forbearance, healing, courage and comfort to the communities around us. They are broken, wounded, immature, sinful, proud, wicked, violent and pagan.
There has been an increasingly heavy storm against the gospel propagation in almost every country. Verbal communication of the gospel of Christ may not be easily possible in the context of political and religious resistances. A demand for Christ-Incarnation is at hand.
We serve the King as His ambassadors. Let people see that we have been with Jesus.
Lord, Help me to remain the reflector of Christ Jesus. Help me to grow from maturity to maturity so Christ can be seen by others in and through me. Amen.
Dynamic Church Planting International (DCPI) “Equips Leaders to Plant 5 Million Churches Worldwide.” Learn more
