Where am I called to witness?

For our devotions last night and this morning, Hubby and I read from Acts 1 and 2.  Just before his ascension, Jesus told the disciples, "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).

To give myself some perspective, I did a little research.  The country of Israel is about 7,992 square miles.  The square mileage of Nebraska is 77,358 square miles.  In other words, you could fit about nine and a half Israels in Nebraska.
The farthest Paul went on his missionary journeys was from Jerusalem to Rome.  The distance from Jerusalem to Rome (in a straight line) is about 1500 miles.  The distance from San Francisco to Chicago is about 1800 miles.

I've always wanted to figure out these comparisons.  Turns out Paul didn't go very far, and the disciples did most of their work in their own (very small) country.  My husband noted this while we were reading: that we shouldn't feel like we have to travel thousands of miles to a distant country to tell people about Jesus.  If one gets the opportunity to do so, that's great!  (I have done that myself...perhaps sometime I'll write about my five months in Indonesia.)  There are millions of people around the world who haven't heard about Jesus.  It's an incredible thing when they get to hear the Gospel because someone made the effort to go tell them.

However, not all Christians are called to go to great lengths to witness about Jesus Christ.  We don't have to wait to go on a mission trip to start telling people about Jesus. Instead, we can be Christ's witnesses in our own homes, neighborhoods, and towns.  We can share the love of Jesus with friends and family and other guests in our homes.  We can live out our Christian faith as we run errands, serve and volunteer in our neighborhoods, and go about our daily work and business.

Sometimes I feel like because I'm rather secluded here at home I'm not able to do much in sharing my faith.  That's really not true!  We have friends over at least once a week, for a meal or just for a visit.  In those times I can love them like Jesus loves them, by serving them, being kind, and being encouraging.  I am a witness to the love and grace of Christ every day to my husband (and he's told me so!).  I can reflect the love of Christ in the way I act and speak when I'm out in public.  I don't have to go to a foreign country to do that.

Christ has called us to serve him wherever we are in our lives.  In every vocation, he gives us the opportunity to be his witnesses.  Whether that vocation is businessman, teacher, truck driver, factory worker, pastor, secretary, or mother and homemaker, we have countless opportunities to share the love of Jesus with whoever is around us and part of our lives.

Where am I called to witness?  Right where I am.