January 13, 2011

This Week’s Reading
Acts 14:1-28
Paul’s 1st Missionary Journey

“We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. In the past he permitted all the nations to go their own ways, but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.” Acts 14:15-17

In a world of a “thousand voices” demanding your allegiance, it is a sigh of relief to know that there is only one voice which can make sense out of it all

Pastor’s Reflections

“I believe in Christianity as I believe in the sun. It is not so much that I see the sun, rather it is that by it I can see everything else.” This misquoted quote from CS Lewis has stuck with ever since I first read it many, many years ago. This is because that is exactly what happened to me after having decided to become a believer. Christianity has shed a clarifying light on everything, absolutely everything, every question, every doubt, every presupposition. This does not mean that Christianity has “answered” everything in a way that my finite mind can comprehend. At the same time, however, a cloud has dissipated, a veil has been lifted.

We live in world of a “thousand truths” all claiming supremacy, each campaigning for your allegiance. How do you know what to believe, whom to believe, and which voice to follow?

Paul and Barnabus are preaching to the citizens of Lystra who have many gods and are pummeled with fear and threats and promises from all of them. And now they get to hear that there is one God above all who made the entire world and who at this very moment is providing for their needs.

Maybe part of the salvation of the Lystrans was the relief of finding out that there is only one voice above all other voices which they must heed . . .or get to heed. They are no longer beholden to lesser gods and lesser voices. They can go to the creator of the universe himself.

Paul and Barnabus got cut off before they even got to talking about Jesus, but where they did get to is a good reminder for us. We would do well to seek out and listen for that one Voice above all others which cuts through the confusion, pushes some voices aside and speaks through others and allows us to be single minded (not narrow minded-far from it) but single minded in away that makes new sense of each of our days.