When You’re Summarized, Let It Begin With Christ

Scripture

Our verse for today comes from Acts 2:40, “And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, ‘Save yourself from this crooked generation.'”

Background

I filled in teaching the youth yesterday at church. As you can probably imagine, the reception was about what you’d expect from a bunch of teenagers sitting in a room at 9:30 on a Sunday morning, even a group with such good kids as these. So as I offered up the occasional question, which was generally met with a heaping helping of silence, I was faced with the challenge of saying too much and boring them to tears, or sparing them from too much talking but not sharing with them the fullness of the lesson. A friend of mine has her middle school nephew living with her and her husband, and recently, the three of them were with a group of mostly older adults. While one of the elder ones was talking to the group, the nephew mumbled under his breath, “summarize,” letting his aunt and uncle know in a slightly humorous and disrespectful way that the speaker was droning on and had lost his interest.

Application

Luke was led by the Holy Spirit to record certain words from God and of those he heard spoken. Sometimes he wrote down seemingly full conversations and lengthy sermons or declarations, as in the case of Peter speaking after the arrival of the Holy Spirit. But then Luke states he testified and encouraged with many other words, which he turned into a brief six-word quote. Many other words essentially became save yourself. Sometimes it’s helpful to boil things down and cut to the chase. We’ve all heard someone ramble on in a way that speaks volumes about how little they really know about what they are saying. And we know that when God looks in His Book of Life, there will not be pages allotted for people to explain what they did and didn’t do and why they should be included. It all will come down to the one simple point of trusting in Jesus for salvation. That alone will save you from this crooked generation. So make sure that if you ever get “summarized,” the Cliff’s Notes version of you begins and ends with your relationship with the Lord. Better that than a novel of excess and waste.

Charge

As we seek Him today, tidy up your heart so that your story is clear and focused.

Editor Comment: In an age that demands everything be condensed, this devotional reminds us that the one thing worth keeping is our faith in Christ alone.