"Now we've come. . . to the end of the road. . . "

Oh, Boyz-2-Men, how I loved thee, back in the day.

Well, we've come to the end of the road in Acts. It's kind of disappointing, don't you think? I love hearing about the missionary journeys that Paul takes and the situations he encounters along the way. But Romans is right around the corner and that is another fascinating book of the Bible to read.

But, first things first. . .

Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Wed, Mar 18: Based on Psalm 33, what do you think it means to fear the Lord?
There's not necessarily a write or wrong answer, but according to the Psalm, to "fear" God is to revere and to love:
Psalm 33:8 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him.
Psalm 33:20 20 We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. 21 In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. 22 May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you.

And here's the question of the day:
Thur, Mar 19: Why did the people on the island of Malta think Paul was a god? (Acts 28)


And here's the reflection of the day:
We've reached the end of the road in Acts. Seems an apt way to phrase that--Acts is full of roads Paul walked along and seas across which Paul sailed. He went so many places, preached to so many people, and he healed so many diseased-ridden bodies.

How could Luke possibly end this tremendous story? What could possibly be the ending of such a tremendous journey? It if were a movie today, there would be fireworks and standing ovations and a ship sailing off into the sunset with Paul at the helm, sailing for a tropical island where everyone was a believer and there was no more evangelizing to be done because he had done it all.

But that's not Luke's style. We think the story of the legendary Paul deserves a Hollywood ending. But Luke knows that would simply distract from the story--the story of God.

Robert Wall included this as the conclusion to his commentary on Acts:
Paul “welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God . . . with all boldness” (28:30-31 NRSV). The final sentence of Acts is a summary, not a climax. Paul is simply being Paul, ever faithful to his prophetic vocation. But this is Luke’s point. His conclusion does not intend to contribute new information to his biography of Paul or to frustrate his readers by leaving out important information.

The ending to Acts does what good endings to excellent stories must always do: facilitate a transition that moves readers from the narrative world to their own considerably more complicated real worlds. These parting images of Paul linger on in our collective imagination to stimulate further reflection on what it means to continue what Paul began to do and to say in Rome. We are his successors. While times and places will continue to change, the church’s prophetic calling is to “proclaim the kingdom of God and teach about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness.” The church must simply be the church.

What do you think of this? Tell me!

Allison