What an extra busy day it has been, Father – bus routes, a dental appointment, more bus routes, and then a trip to help out a family member. I am weary but it has all been for the good. May Your blessing be upon all we’ve done.
Acts 13:44-52 (<<click here to read the passage)
In our current political environment, it’s easy to find someone that doesn’t agree with the “truth” that we hold to. Some like to argue (in some pointless attempt to change the minds of others) but sometimes is just easier to write them off as a hopeless case and not worth the effort to change them to our way of thinking.
In today’s passage, something far more important took place. Verse 51 reads,
So they [Paul and Barnabas] shook the dust from their feet as a sign of rejection and went to the town of Iconium. NLT
The opening sentence of the note on this verse from my Life Application Study Bible had this to say, “Often Jews would shake the dust off their feet when leaving a Gentile town on the way back to their own land. This symbolized cleansing themselves from the contamination of those who did not worship God.”
That was a pretty poignant display, don’t you think?
In the Gospel of Mark, it is recorded that when Jesus sent his disciples out two by two to minister in the surrounding area, he commanded them,
“But if any place refuses to welcome you or listen to you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.” Mark 6:11 NLT
My Bible study notes continue by saying, “For Paul and Barnabas to do this to Jews demonstrated that Jews who rejected the Good News were not truly part of Israel and were no better than pagans.”
Paul and company just left it as it was – nothing more was said, and that final act said it all.
Should they have continued to try to convince them of the truth? It would have been advisable to pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to reach out to them. But would their efforts have really accomplished anything?
In my opening paragraph, I spoke of our political environment. Do you know of anyone who ever changed their mindset to believe as truth, something they had always held to be a lie? I will admit it can happen, but I would dare say that those instances have been relatively few and far between.
One thing that needs to be stressed here is the fact that on the far more important spiritual side of things, if our message of Jesus’ saving power is rejected by those we share it with, and if we have shared it as faithfully as we know how to, then we are not to blame for their rejection. Ultimately, the decision made is up to each one of us, individually.
If we have done everything we could to present the way of salvation to someone and they do not take it to heart it is not our fault. We can’t fret about it but must leave it in God’s more than capable hands. We pray, shake the dust from our feet, and move on.
May 4th, 2022, Wed, 8:51 pm
