Words Matter
Opening Prayer
Loving God, may my thoughts and deeds be pleasing to You today. I lift Your name in joyful worship.
Read ACTS 15:22–35
22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers. 23 With them they sent the following letter:
The apostles and elders, your brothers,
To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:
Greetings.
24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25 So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.
Farewell.
30 So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. 31 The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. 32 Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. 33 After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. [34] 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Sometimes a letter (substitute email for today’s world) can seem to be impersonal and subject to misinterpretation. So Judas and Silas accompanied Paul and Barnabas, and they delivered the letter. This act is a reminder that personal contact is always important in resolving conflict.
How you communicate can be as important as what you communicate. Unrestricted Gentile entry wasn’t settled with a council. The news had to be taken carefully and quickly to Antioch and beyond. The messenger and the form of the message must be appropriate and unambiguous. So they decided there would be four in the delegation who would represent both the HQ at Jerusalem and also Antioch and the missionary frontier. Between them they could faithfully recount the tone and content of the meeting.
The letter began by recognizing how difficult and divisive the issue had proved to be. It apologized for any intended hurt it had caused and reaffirmed the standing of their own leaders, Barnabas and Paul, in the eyes of the apostles. Then it faithfully reproduced the outcome and findings of the council, to map out the way ahead. If only we could be as wise and careful about the way we communicate decisions to others. The course they followed allowed for no misrepresentation of the events nor any doubt about what had been decided.
The news of the outcome was given publicly and to all and it had the desired effect. The encouragement it gave was in endorsing the validity of their church and its mission. They were able to look on Judas and Silas not as outsiders, or the establishment, but as brothers, whose ministry they welcomed and could benefit from. There was no question of them simply delivering their message and heading home. They took time to listen and learn, to share and minister. The outcome was strengthened relationships, deeper trust and a more united church. Time spent on relationship-building and sharing God’s Word is never wasted.
Apply
Imagine someone coming to a service in your church for the first time. What unintended barriers might prevent them from hearing the message you want to share? Will you help demolish them?
Closing prayer
Thank You, Lord, that You speak to me through the words of the prophets and apostles and You help me to understand their meaning through Jesus, the Word made flesh.
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