“1 After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, 3 and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. 4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.”

Acts 18:1-4

==

We are so often tempted to look at the task of discipleship and see the whole picture at once. That is an overwhelming task to try to begin! Looking at all the people that need to meet Jesus, all those souls who stand apart from the joy of the Gospel, we see the task laid out before us and we instantly begin thinking about how there is now way we can handle this enormous undertaking. The harvest is indeed plentiful! But we look at it with the eyes of the worker, and not the eyes of the Master who has given the work, and in doing so, we find ourselves struggling with the very idea of beginning the work. And in that state of mind, man y Christians set aside the power given to us in Jesus Christ, and we settle for complacency, consumerism and apathy sets in where glory should reside.

In reality, we see what Paul does here in Acts 18 and it sounds so simple, it sounds too easy. Just meet with friends? Just talk with people out at the stores  & shops as your day unwinds? What about the crowds, the times where “3000 were added to their number that day.” and other situations like that? Doesn’t sharing the Gospel look like that? Powerful speakers, big voices, great intellects? That’s what makes for an effective Gospel presentation, right?

Wrong. We more we acknowledge our weakness, the more God shines through. The more we see and understand that the infinite, all powerful Creator of the Universe puts His Holy Spirit into us, into our regular, daily life selves, the more we will come to see and understand that the best discipling happens in these quiet, small, one-on-one situations, rather than in the big and the grandiose. Sure, some people are drawn by the crowds, and they get saved in the midst of large efforts. But the bulk of the population of heaven will be there because 1 or 2 people sidled up next to them somewhere along life’s journey and witnessed to them for the sake of Christ in small, private, daily-life kind of ways. There is beauty and power in the simple communication of the Gospel. There is power in the Gospel, and we must remember that God did not send us out inadequately equipped. Instead, He gave us Himself, through His Holy Spirit, and we can stand in all confidence in that message and in that process of discipleship because of what He has done.

It is all for His glory anyway. Trust Him. Take those simple steps of faith today and begin a conversation about Jesus with someone. You don’t have to have all the answers, you just need to be willing to be used by Him for His glory as we GoLove others in His Name.