Expected

“….and you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.”
Acts 1:8 (NIV)

C.T. Studd gave up a cricket career and a family fortune to spend his life on the mission field. He once said, "The light that shines farthest shines brightest nearest home."

Jesus understood that principle. After telling His followers they will be His witnesses, He gives them a map that starts right where they're standing. Jerusalem first. Then Judea and Samaria. Then the ends of the earth.

Jerusalem is home. It's the neighborhood, the office, and the dinner table. Jesus is saying the mission doesn't begin when you board a plane. It begins right where you already are. The reason you live where you live and work where you work isn't accidental. God placed you there on purpose.

Then the circle widens. Jesus tells them to go to Samaria, the last place any of them wants to go. Samaritans are the wrong background, the wrong bloodline, the wrong side of the tracks. Jesus is expanding the vision. Race doesn't disqualify anyone. The Gospel crosses every line human beings have ever drawn.

Your Jerusalem is already in front of you. Maybe it’s the neighbor you wave to but never really talk to or the coworker you eat lunch near every day. Before you pray for the ends of the earth this week, pray for one person by name in your own Jerusalem. Then take one step toward them.

The light that shines farthest really does shine brightest nearest home.

Prayer: Lord, I’ve often thought about mission as something that happens far away. But You placed me exactly where I am for a reason. Show me the person in my Jerusalem I've been walking past. Give me the courage to stop, to ask, to share. In Jesus' Name, Amen.