Eastertide
May 3, 2016

Scripture Reading: Acts 16:16-34

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, ‘Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.’ The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ –Acts 16:25-30

This story illustrates Paul’s singularity of focus. No matter where is was or what was happening, he kept his attention fully targeted at making disciples. Thrown in prison, it is time to sing hymns. Earthquake, it is time to save a jailer from committing suicide. How dedicated are we to living and loving like Jesus every moment of every day?

I just read the book The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore. It is the story of two men with the same name who grew up in the same intercity neighborhood in Baltimore whose outcomes were dramatically different. The other Wes Moore is now spending the rest of his life in prison. The author Wes Moore is a published army veteran, served an internship in South Africa, and is a Rhodes Scholar. How does that happen? How do two people with very similar environments come out so differently? The author Wes Moore ends the book still somewhat perplexed about that. The one thing on which most who have read the book agree, is that the consistency of small acts of love add up to big life influencers. In all honesty, I think all life outcomes result from the accumulation of acts of love or the absence of them. Our omissions of love for one another perhaps have more impact on life outcomes than outright hostility.

Making disciples means that we are to live our love in such a way that all will know the love of God. When all can love each other fully and completely the Kingdom of God will be here.

Prayer: Lord, guide us to love one another every time all the time. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.