Not Easy

Below is the daily Bible reading I am doing for the West Side Church. Please feel free to follow along.

The Bible reading so far this year has not promised following Christ would be easy. Actually the more we have read, the more we have heard Jesus, Peter, Stephen, and even Paul talk about the hardships following Christ is going to call for. Today’s reading (Acts 20) is not any different.

It picks up with the ending of the riots in Ephesus. It concludes with Paul telling the Ephesian elders he will never see them again. In between Paul tells how the Holy Spirit has told him that prison and hardships are facing him. He shares that he is going to Jerusalem, and honestly does not know what he is going to face there. This man is legit. (I have been around my brother recently and this is his new word for everything, but it really works here.) The message of the cross is so important to Paul that he is willing to face prison, unknown hardships, and just plain nastiness just so he has the privilege and opportunity to spread the gospel. Paul is living dangerous.

The gospel we have read and the history so far of the early church point toward a faith that is living dangerous. It points toward a faith that is living on the edge. But does this faith resemble our churches today? I don’t know if I can say it does. So … how can we work to live on the edge a little more? How could our lives look a little more dangerous for Christ?

If you would like to read an awesome book on this you should check out Vince Antonucci's book Guerilla Lovers.