Together in Christ: 'Saddened and Scattered' — Acts 8:1-4

The early disciples were grieved by the martyrdom of Stephen and saddened by the vicious persecution launched against them in Jerusalem. Still, they didn't allow their grief or sadness to derail their mission. Jesus had called them to reach people throughout the world. ^[1] They had largely stalled in fulfilling this mission. Persecution intended to stamp out their movement drove them out of Jerusalem. Rather than backing down under opposition or backing off their mission, they carried the message wherever they went. They used the hardships and their persecution as an opportunity to spread Jesus' message in many parts of the Mediterranean world.

We need to learn from their example. Rather than seeing hardships and suffering as signs of God's disapproval, they used them as an opportunity to take the Good News of Jesus to lost people in many countries. ^[2] Shouldn't we do the same? Trials, suffering, persecution, and difficulties are not necessarily because we are outside God's will but may actually be because we are living for God in a world hostile to faith. When we are faithful, God uses us to do more than we can ask or imagine because His power, the Holy Spirit, is at work in us. ^[3]