Day 4: Rejected Yet Persistent

Reading: Acts 14:8-20 

In Lystra and Derbe

8 In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
 
11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.
 
14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. 16 In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” 18 Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.
 
19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. 20 But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

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Devotional:
One day the crowds wanted to worship Paul as a god; the next day they stoned him and left him for dead. This whiplash of human opinion didn't deter Paul. The next day, he got up and continued preaching. What drove such persistence? Paul had experienced God's grace when he was the enemy, persecuting believers. He understood that people who need salvation most often reject it violently. Like Jesus who prayed, "Father, forgive them," Paul was compelled by love to risk everything for those who didn't yet know they needed rescue. This is mission risk—offering people what they desperately need but may violently reject. It's choosing to love sacrificially, knowing rejection is possible but salvation is worth it.

Who in your life needs Jesus but resists Him? How is God calling you to love them persistently despite rejection?