Adventuresome?

And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier that guarded him.... He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. (Acts 28:16, 30-31)

This last chapter of Acts concludes a truly amazing story. God used a man who was arrested in Jerusalem, imprisoned in Caesarea, shipwrecked on the island of Malta, and finally detained under house arrest with an armed guard for two years, to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. It's hard to imagine that God could have devised a more round about way of delivering the Gospel to the heart of the Roman Empire.

When I think about the life I've lived, it is about as round about as the story of Paul in Acts, although not nearly as dramatic. Growing up in Michigan the grandson of a wholesale florist, I was supposed to follow in my grandfather's footsteps and take over the family business. God had other plans, and I ended up being chosen by Him to share the good news of Jesus for the rest of my life. In the process God moved me and my family from Illinois, to Minnesota, to Washington state, and finally now to Texas. In every place God had new adventures planned for us, and opportunities I had never dreamed of to spread the gospel.

Paul was an even more unlikely candidate to be chosen by God than I was. He was a Pharisee, the strictest sect of the Jews who were determined to make themselves right with God by their own efforts at observing the Law. Paul persecuted Christians and threw them in prison, before he was blinded by Christ and then had his eyes opened at his baptism. But through Paul, God taught us about his grace, turned the world upside down, and spread the Gospel throughout the known world.

You may think you're nothing special or that your life is pretty ordinary, but if you will put yourself in God's hands you may be surprised how He will use you to spread the message of His love in Jesus. You may even have some adventures you never dreamed of. Being used by God to share the Gospel is not always easy or painless, but it is exciting and full of adventure. So why not say a prayer and ask God to put you to work, starting today!