“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).
The church of Jesus Christ is an infant. It’s only been weeks, perhaps months, since Jesus ascended into heaven. The Holy Spirit was given to the church at Pentecost and Peter and John continue to preach about the resurrection of Jesus in the Temple to the great consternation of the Jewish leaders. What is even more troubling is that, not only that Peter and John continue to preach about Jesus, but hundreds and thousands are converting!
So the temple leaders arrest John and Peter. The temple leaders interrogate Peter and John about their preaching. And “when they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled ordinary men, they were astonished.”
These weren’t scholars. These weren’t the learned rabbis. These guys weren’t rich, powerful, influential people. These were ordinary fishermen. These were you commoners. But hundreds and thousands were coming to saving faith by the day.
How could this be? The temple leaders were astonished. The only conclusion that they could come to was that “these men must have been with Jesus.”
Isn’t that great?
You know, the way God goes about changing the world and changing eternities hasn’t changed. God continues to use ordinary people doing ordinary things to do extraordinary deeds for the kingdom of God.
So, do the ordinary things:
- serve in the local church
- facilitate a small group
- sing in the choir
- take care of the babies in the nursery
- help out in the office
- serve on a committee
- share God’s word
- pray for people
- love the people God sends your way
And watch how God uses ordinary people doing ordinary things to turn the world upside down.
Praxis: Faith in Action 