By Elizabeth Barnard
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
- Acts 1:8
People who recognize the work of the Lord in their lives often tell others about their experiences. They do this by speaking truth in love or by showing love through their actions. They become witnesses to others where they are.
Circles of Influence
Jerusalem was the center of Christianity in the early years. Just as Jerusalem was a central hub to the early Christians, we each have hubs of our own. The first circle depicts those immediately around us: people in our homes and in our families. How we act and speak to those closest to us makes the most difference. The biggest impact we have is on the ones we care for and who care for us the most.
The next circle moves further out to Judea. This relates to our neighbors, those coworkers we may or may not talk to, and the soccer moms and swimming dads you see with your children at sports. These people are acquaintances—there is often little depth to the conversations with this group.
The circle spreads even wider to Samaria. Those who are not like us and not in our relational circles belong here. This includes those we have to be intentional about in reaching out and visiting. People within this sphere are not to be ostracized, but reached, impacted, and loved, just like the innermost circle.
We see one final circle. This circle is all people from all corners of the world. We are called to make these areas aware of the power and presence of God. To influence each of these circles requires work. We have a job that Christ set before us in his final words to us before He was called back up to heaven.
Actions Create Ripples
When I saw the movie Pocahontas as a child I found the “Grandmother Willow” willow tree to be slightly creepy. A talking tree? I didn’t understand.
But as I’ve grown older and thought about this reference, I’ve seen that nature talks to me all the time. The rivers, the wind, and the water all represent something different to me about God and His character.
Grandmother Willow makes a good point. Talking to Pocahontas she explains that whenever you throw a rock into a stream, it makes ripples. For good or bad, the water around where you throw in the rock is displaced. Other water has to move over and this creates ripples in the surface of the water.
There is beauty in the ripples. The further out the ripples go, the smaller their effect and change in the water surface. The first ripple closest to the disturbance has the most impact. The last ripple is a faint whisper fading into the unknown.
To the Ends of the Earth
The same is true in our lives: our actions affect those close to us the most. Our friends and family are raised up or dragged down depending on our actions. Our acquaintances aren’t impacted as much, and so on. When we do missions, especially international missions, this pattern gets inverted.
Ministering internationally allows each one of us to be witnesses to the ends of the earth and create ripples that originate in that country instead of faint whispers heard from across oceans. This is why our international travel needs to be so covered in prayer and thoughtful obedience to Christ.
While on the mission field, we meet and talk with new friends who become like family. For that week, they are closer to us than anyone else. They are the people we impact and love. When we share God with them we give them the largest wave (the hope of eternity) that they could ever receive.
Prayer and obedience to God prior to the trip sets the stage for the joy that comes from starting ripples of hope, joy, peace, and love in places that are not used to it.
We’d love to have you join us in Belize to spread the Good News of the gospel. If you’d like to talk to us about that, send us an email here. And wherever you are, practice missional living today!
Elizabeth Barnard is a missions consultant and trip leader at Thirst Missions. Author of Go Away Closer.
