Acts

In our adult Friday night Bible study group and also our team Bible study on Tuesday night, we're going through the book of Acts.  I must admit, it's always been a bit difficult for me to comprehend it, especially now that I am on the mission field.  I understand that God does not change, but the way in which He interacts with people throughout history changes.  We no longer have a theocracy like in ancient Israel.  God does not appear to us in a pillar of raging fire.  The way God was present in the Old Testament, He is now present in our lives in other ways:  The Word, Communion, His Spirit in our hearts.

But what about the early church in Acts?  They were also part of the New Covenant.  God displayed His sovereignty and did mighty things.  The believers at that time fasted, prayed ceaselessly, gave all their money to the poor.  It was a time of extremes.  Extreme persecution, extreme sacrifice, extreme turnover.  Peter and Paul and the other apostles walked into temples and preached the Gospel in truth and love, without reservation or shame or timidity.  People would bring their sick to them, trying just to reach the span of their shadows, that they might be healed.  Now, we probably don't have hordes of people fighting over prime spots in our personal bubbles so that they could be healed.  The Bible says everyone has different gifts-- some healing, some prophesy, others teaching, still others encouragement, etc.  Well, maybe our gifts are not that of healing.  But we do have the same authority to do amazing  things-- the name of Jesus.  Right?

       John 14:12-14:
"Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.  And I will do whatever you  ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."

As a youth, I always imagined the mission field to be like the early church.  Extreme.  Raw.  Dangerous.  Some mission fields are like this.  We hear about exorcisms and healings in India and Africa.  But I suppose I'm much more "comfortable" here than I imagined.  The school gives me a "safe" place to tell students that Jesus loves them, where it's embedded into the curriculum and it's very convenient and it's what I get paid to do.   I absolutely love teaching my students about the Bible, so hat's all fine and well.  However, I suppose I am desiring more.  I know some people write off street evangelism as ineffective.   But in a place where only 0.04% of the population is Christian and many have never even heard the truth of the Gospel before, would it really be a waste of time?

What would happen if I sit down with the people at the local temple with my Chinese English Bible?  What if I tell the girl who makes me dumplings that Jesus loves her?  I've done some of this when the time is right, inviting the girls at the tea stand to Bible study (and they came).  But for the most part, it is still something that makes me a bit nervous.  I don't want to spout words without tact, but I don't want fear or timidity to be holding me back from sharing God's love to people who desperately need it.

When should we witness in Chiayi?  How should we witness?  To whom should we witness?  How is it similar and different than witnessing in America?  How is it similar and different than the early church?  I've emailed professors and mission supervisors these questions, looking for any clues to the answers within the shifting contexts of society and individuals.  What does God have in store for me to do here?  Whatever it is, I want to go at it at full speed forward, fueled by love, and unhindered by the brakes of fear.

How about you?  Thoughts?  Similar questions?  Input?  Scripture?  Email me at anna.gruen@cuw.edu.