Unforgettable
By Elin Henderson
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.”
Acts 4:13 (NKJV)
Can’t you just hear Nat King Cole crooning away in the background? “Unforgettable, that’s what you are…” Have to love the classics! We can be unforgettable for a number of different reasons. It is evident that many of the New Testament apostles like Peter, John and Paul were difficult characters to forget. From the descriptions we read of them in Scripture, we have to draw the conclusion that they left an impression everywhere they went. And not just any old impression: “the people marveled.” Was it because of how great these guys were? No, it was because they were different. They had been with Jesus! He was a reality in their lives that the people around them couldn’t explain. By Elin Henderson
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.”
Acts 4:13 (NKJV)
This challenged me to consider, am I unforgettable in the same way they were? Let’s not forget that we can be unforgettable for negative reasons as well. We all know Hitler, Stalin and Saddam Hussein. They are unforgettable characters, too, but for completely different reasons. What impressions and impacts are we having on the people we come into contact with? When we walk away, what do they think? Or, do they think again of us at all? Are our lives so similar to theirs that they don’t notice a difference in us?
May it be that after people are with us they say to themselves, “Boy, there is something different about her. Did you see how she reacted to that negative situation?” Or, “She has something that I don’t have.” May we leave our mark on history like the church fathers of old and be “Unforgettable, that’s what you are. Unforgettable, though near or far.”
GOING DEEPER:
1. Take the time to read through 1 Thessalonians 2. What impact do Paul and his companions have on the Thessalonian people?
FURTHER READING:
Philippians 1:27
Oakwood’s missionaries Elin Henderson and her husband Phil serve as church planters with New Tribes in Mozambique, Africa. Elin is mother to nine-year-old Callie and seven-year-old Elias.
