Enthusiastically Inclusive

When African American slavery was legal in America it was evil. At the time other evils were legal too. One of those evils was that women of all races could not vote in America. Some were active only in the fight against slavery. Others were active in the fight for equality and other goodness for both African Americans and women.

Some people limited their activism to slavery because of ignorance. God wants us to have a comprehensive understanding of the Bible. The things that we do not know can cause us and others harm. God is concerned about all people.

Acts 18:24-26 New Living Translation Bible says, "Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well, had arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt. He had been taught the way of the Lord, and he taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic spirit and with accuracy. However, he knew only about John’s baptism. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God even more accurately."

Priscilla and Aquila were a wife and a husband who were creyentes (believers). They worked together to share a relationship with God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Spirit with many people. When Priscilla and Aquila encountered Apollos they didn't get angry with Apollos because of his limited understanding. Instead they loved Apollos and shared with him more revelation of who God is.

Apollos accepted the Word of God delivered to him via Priscilla and Aquila. Apollos also became a leader in the early Christian church.

How do you view people who have a different understanding than yours? Write to:

Michele F. Jackson
P. O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, Virginia 22195

Follow Michele F. Jackson on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/michelelove30.

Priscilla and Aquila saw potential in Apollos even though he wasn't a part of their worship group initially and had less understanding of the Bible. 1 Corinthians 13:7 Amplified Bible says, "Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]."

The Chinese invented the fishing reel. Priscilla and Aquila weren't afraid to fish for Apollos who was different from them. God wants all kinds of people in His kingdom, and He wants us to continuously grow in our understanding of who God is and what pleases Him.