Changing the Scenery (Friday Devotional)

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

- Acts 1:8

Something I learned about myself early in adulthood—something which continues to be true today—is that I can’t be cooped up in an office all day long. The custodian at our church has already gotten used to finding me doing laps around the building when the weather is nice in the afternoon, just as our ministry assistant has grown accustomed to me doing my sermon writing on Fridays at a nearby coffee shop. And rarely does a day go by that I eat lunch at my desk—whether at home or a restaurant, I’m out of the building midday.

My office is a comfortable place, ideal in many ways for getting work done: my books are there, my laptop charger is already plugged in, and the Wifi is (usually) reliable. But sometimes you just need a change of scenery.

When Jesus gave his final instructions to the disciples before ascending into heaven, he urged them to spread the gospel far and wide. While they were called to first be his witnesses in Jerusalem, they were then to move to the larger community of Judea, then to the hostile territory of Samaria, and ultimately to the very ends of the earth. Jesus did not intend for the gospel to be a localized message reserved exclusively for the disciples’ friends and family—if the kingdom was to flourish, Jesus’s followers would have to go beyond the familiar.

That command extends to us today—for us to be obedient to the commission Jesus has given us, we have to be willing to change the scenery every once in a while. The circle of people to whom we show the love of Christ cannot be so tight that there’s no room for more; our routines cannot be so regimented that we’re unwilling to go places the gospel has not yet reached.

Sharing the gospel is not something reserved for a certain day of the week, a particular building, or a special group of people. So may you be willing to step out of your comfort zone in the name of obediently sharing your faith—in the name of evangelism, may you be willing to change the scenery.