Acts 26:19-23

Acts 26:19-23
English Standard Version (ESV)

  CS Lewis said that it's not the parts of the Bible that he doesn't understand that scare him, it's the parts of the Bible he does understand.
  When Paul heard his commission from God, he followed it.  It meant turning his back on everything he had known and following a new path, one that would be very costly to him, ultimately costing him his life.  He believed it was worth it, because he had the chance to proclaim the greatest Truth, that the promises of the Old Testament had been fulfilled in the suffering and death of Jesus Christ on the cross.
  So we, too, are charged.  We're charged to go forth and serve, to love and humbly reach out to those around us.  We're called to proclaim the Truth of the Gospel in word and deed, and to give out of our abundance, to give sacrificially, and to recognize that everything we have belongs to God.
  Jesus makes this all clear, but we twist it because it's a hard challenge.  We're not interested in offering up everything, so we convince ourselves that the call of the Gospel isn't on everything, just on some parts of our lives.  We opt for an easier disobedience.
  The amazing thing about the Gospel is that there is grace for us.  We are given a new day to fall into the grace of God, to confess that we fall short and to be reassured by the promises of God.  You are infinitely loved, and you are called into a life of discipleship.  May we have the wisdom and courage to follow today.