DAD'S RAMBLINGS – JUST DO IT
"For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain. But even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict." (I Thessalonians 2:1-2)
The Paul was not easily deterred from sharing the Gospel. He remembered how it was when he came to Thessalonica. On this missionary journey to Macedonia, he first came to the city of Philippi (Acts 16:12). There, he and others were beaten with many stripes with rods and thrown into prison. Then they came to Thessalonica (Acts 17:1), and he preached with boldness.
While he was at Thessalonica, the Jews were not persuaded. They incited the populace of the city to riot against them. It go so intense that Paul and Silas had to slip out of the city by night. That is why he preached the Gospel with much conflict. His message was not well received by the general population.
Even after he left Thessalonia and came to Berea, there was a contingent of Jews who came from Thessalonica and stirred up the crowds against him and he had to flee again for his life.
It would be so easy to call it quits after being rejected so much. He could have asked, "Is this worth the cost?" But he kept on preaching and there were those who received the Gospel and turned to Jesus.
In our sharing of the Gospel of Jesus, we get a lot of rejection and push-back, and even some verbal abuse. We are tempted to quit and say, "It's not worth it." Paul's commitment to God's commission to preach the Gospel was so strong, that nothing deterred him. He just kept on going, like the energizer bunny.
God has given us a commission to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. There may be rejection, but God did not give us a reason to quit. Like the Nike ad, He said, "Just Do it."
When people spurn our sharing of the Gospel, we also know that there will be people who receive it, as they did at Thessalonica. So, don't be discouraged when it seems there is no fruit. God keeps the records.
Love, Dad
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