26 From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.
Some work of God is ongoing. Some is time-limited. Paul has finished a time-limited task. He goes back to his starting base for a time of refreshing and rejoicing. This has been a very difficult trip for Paul. He has faced persecution at almost every turn. He was stoned and left for dead in one town! Now he has returned to give a report to those who sent him on his way. I might be tempted to ask them NOT to send me on the next journey. If I looked at Paul’s journey from a purely personal human perspective, I would say it was a failure. He probably had physical scars from his encounters. He was tired and needed rest. But there was more than just a natural personal outcome to this trip. God had accomplished many eternal moments during his ministry. Many thousands had been touched with the truth. Many became followers of Jesus. And now those who sent them were greatly encouraged with the report. It was also a turning point in the audience of the Gospel. This was primarily a trip to reach Gentiles, non-Jewish people. This trip signaled the shift of focus for the Church. There were many more non-Jews than Jews, so reaching out to the non-Jews was important to the reaching of the world. Paul did not exclude the Jews from hearing the message, but extended the reach of his ministry well beyond this small group. We saw Paul reaching God-fearing non-Jews who gathered with the Jews for worship under the Jewish religious system. They were often the first to respond to the message of grace that Paul brought. Paul returns to his starting base and makes a full report. It is important for us to take time to reflect on the events of our days, weeks, months, and years. There are lessons to be learned in that reflecting time, lessons that need to be incorporated into our future. But we must take time, as Paul did, to listen to those lessons. We need to take time to share those lessons with others. What lessons have you been learning recently?