He taught them about Himself, the Father and the Kingdom that was to come. He told them the time would come when they would receive the Spirit and they would be his witnesses. As followers, they “witnessed” because they supported all Jesus did. This, however, would not be enough. Jesus would leave them in body and they would need a higher power for encouragement and direction at a time when many who knew him thought they had lost him to death.
After Jesus’ resurrection, they weren’t sure they knew Jesus at all. They had watched him die and that wasn’t part of the plan. How could they follow a man who was no longer with them? Yet He had prepared them. It would take some time for them to recognize it, but they would see it, loud and clear.
On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came. The disciples were prepared, through the work of the Holy Spirit, to preach the Word and minister and witness to thousands of people who were there.
Their dedication and devotion to Christ’s teaching put them in all kinds of perilous situations. They chose to suffer for the cause of The Messiah. They taught about the Kingdom and just as Jesus had done, and even used the symbolic pearl to teach about the Church and salvation. The pearl, like salvation is produced through a living being.
Through discomfort and irritation, a grain of sand within the oyster grows into a beautiful pearl. Jesus suffered pain and hurt all the way to the cross. The disciples endured hardships and many were martyred for the sake of Jesus. Yet God’s purpose through the turmoil and pressures endured by both Christ and the disciples produced a process that demonstrates the work God does and plans in our life.
With the same Spirit Jesus gave his disciples and all those that believed when the first churches were beginning, he gives us today when we accept him as our Savior. This same Spirit encourages and directs us if we allow him. This is the key. The Spirit is within us; it is up to us to open our minds and hearts to his voice. When we do, we become like the first disciples and can spread his message to the “ends of the earth.”
I encourage you to think about your trials and tribulations. Can you relate to the idea of the formation of the pearl which becomes valuable in spite of how it was formed? Can you see how God can use your specific painful circumstances to mold you into a unique servant for the Kingdom? Perhaps a closer look will lead you into service in ways you hadn’t yet thought about!
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