The Early Church

Reading through the Bible, I finished Matthew last week and started the Book of Acts yesterday. The progression is fascinating really. Here you go from what Jesus was doing - about 3 years of ministry, is dead for 3 days, returns and teaches for another 40 days, then says he's coming back soon. I got to thinking, if I was a disciple, I would've thought he'd be back in, oh, a couple of days. Really - maybe a couple of weeks, tops. Certainly not more than 3 years. Fast forward today, we're still waiting, 2000 years later.

Back to AD 50 something, I'm drawn to the fact that people who met Jesus and tramped around the Israeli countryside with him were the early church. These people - persecuted, martyred, and thrown into arenas - knew that Jesus was a flesh and blood person. They had spent years with him and dedicated their lives to something that they knew was real. No way, no way, did these people dream up a religion only to get slaughtered by the Romans. They experienced a real relationship and wanted to share this with people, no matter what the cost, because it was worth it.

And here we are today, not so far removed. It's just moved from generation to generation with exactly the same message. There's more to this life than living and dying. We're more than flesh and blood. It's awesome. Really.