Dear Theopilus?
Reading this post by JR Woodword got me thinking. We are studying through the book of Acts together as a community. We’re in chapter 4 this week so we’re still fairly early on in the narrative. If you’ve read or studied the book of Acts you know that it is addressed to “Theophilus.” Luke is writing to this person (whoever he is) and sharing with him the stories of the early church.
So, like I said, this got me thinking. If Luke were to write narrative about our local church or better yet the group of local churches in lower Bucks County. What would he say? As Willimon pointed out, “Theophilus will be told stories of people who overcome personal anxiety, who found security in conventional truth, who kept with their own kind and stayed safely home.”
God I pray that our church and the local churches around us would tell of radical stories of conversion and sacrifice for the sake of being your witnesses in the world. After all, we have the same Spirit that empowered their witness. Don’t we?