City Life Starter

Written by Efe Abbe

The Word

¹² Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile.^{[Greek a Sabbath day’s journey] 13} When they arrived, they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying.

Here are the names of those who were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the zealot), and Judas (son of James). ¹⁴ They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.

-Acts 1:12-14 NLT

³ I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. ⁴ He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. ⁵ He was seen by Peter^{[Greek Cephas]} and then by the Twelve. ⁶ After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers^{[Greek the brothers]} at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. ⁷ Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles.

-1 Corinthians 5:3-7 NLT

Reflection

Family. The word conjures up a spectrum of emotions, good and bad, and Jesus was no stranger to the messiness of family. His own thought He was out of His mind (Mark 3:21) and His brothers openly ridiculed His ministry because they didn’t believe in Him (John 7:3-5).

But Jesus didn’t give up on them.

The apostle Paul wrote that Jesus appeared to at least one of His unbelieving brothers – James – after His resurrection. And if Peter’s post-resurrection restoration serves as a lens, we would expect that Jesus’ appearance to James was challenging with truth yet grace-filled.

The rest of the story is history because after Jesus’ resurrection appearance, His brothers believe and two of them (James and Jude) would go on to pen letters, that are now included in God’s inspired Word, the Bible. What a wonderful God and Savior King Jesus is.

Application

Our most challenging mission field may be our closest – our families – and the Lord Jesus knows this well. However, we have been specifically placed and equipped to reach them.

Regardless of the closeness (or distance) of our familial relationships, humility and wisdom from the Holy Spirit are required.

Seek God’s face and guidance on how to reach family that are yet to believe in Jesus and trust that He knows deeply because He experienced having to reach His family too.

Prayer

Thank You Father for giving me my specific family. Please give me the humility, wisdom, and courage to love them deeply to share Jesus with them. In Jesus’ name, amen.