I’m impressed with the Apostle Peter’s description of Jesus of Nazareth as one who “went about doing good” – or, as another translation puts it, “passed through as a benefactor” – “healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” (Acts 10:38)
Peter was addressing a house full of non-Jews when he said this, and was just getting into his preaching stride when the Spirit of God fell on everyone present and they spoke in tongues – languages they had not learned. Peter travelled for days and after arriving only got to speak for a few minutes!
Going about, doing good has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? It’s what we do in life – we go about. We go here and there doing whatever needs doing, and now and then meet up with someone who needs to know God’s goodness and is ready to receive the Lord.
the same Jesus who “went about doing good” nowadays does it through us. One reason why Jesus was able to do so much for so many was that he never stopped and built a support base. I don’t blame those who do — Australia is a huge continent and its distances can intimidate the traveller. Anyway, Jesus had a lot to do and very little time to do it. I remember a Victorian man who hooked up his caravan to his vehicle and set out for Cairns, in North Queensland. After three days of travel he arrived in Brisbane, only to realise that he was only halfway to his destination; so he turned around and drove back home.
The only time we read of Jesus using any kind of transport was when he entered Jerusalem on the back of a donkey — a very short ride. Jesus walked everywhere – up to Jerusalem, through Samaria, north to Galilee, uphill to Nazareth and downhill to Capernaum, along the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee and, famously, across the water
So when you scan an evangelist’s itinerary, think about the time they take to travel the distance between meetings. Historian Geoffrey Blainey coined the phrase “tyranny of distance” to describe the vastness of Australia.
So whenever you think of evangelists you know who are “going about, doing good” — take time to pray for them as they sit in Economy breathing recycled air with low moisture content, eating (or not eating) very ordinary airline food. Ministering after they get there is easy when compared to the long hours they’ll have spent just getting there!