I'm No Big Deal

but Jesus is

Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 35-36; Acts 19; Psalm 22

Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples…

The book of Acts primarily focuses on the ministry and missionary journeys of Paul. That makes sense. Luke, the author of Acts, was Paul’s companion, and Paul had a profound influence on the theology and practice of the early church. But if we’re not careful, we might get the impression that Paul’s work was the only thing happening in those early days.

It wasn’t.

Texts like Acts 19 remind us of that. When Paul arrived in Ephesus, he “found some disciples” already there. He did tremendous work in that city, but he didn’t start it. God had already begun building His church in Ephesus before Paul ever set foot there.

And that brings us to an important point:
God is working outside of our little worlds.

We often become narrowly focused on our own ministries, churches, and denominations. We get excited (or overwhelmed) by what we’re doing and forget—or maybe never even realize—that the kingdom of God is growing in places and ways we had nothing to do with.

Sometimes we’re surprised to learn that believers in other countries have never even heard of our church, our leaders, or our theological distinctives. And that’s okay.

In fact, it’s good.
It’s humbling.
And it’s worth celebrating.

Because we’re not as big a deal as we think we are.
But Jesus is.

And that’s a truth worth remembering—often.