Read: Acts 2:1-41
For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off . . . (v. 39)
The disciples were laying low in Jerusalem, waiting for Jesus’ promised gift. Could any of them have anticipated what came next? Tongues of fire, empowering the disciples to speak in many languages. Imagine the confusion!
Peter’s speech explained this event to the confused bypassers, and to us too. Jesus, crucified and risen, was the fulfillment of God’s long promise. God was with us, in the flesh. And even now, with this gift of the Holy Spirit, God is with us once again.
So the story of Jesus, beginning with his birth and leading to this gifting of the Holy Spirit, represents a new chapter in the story of God’s people, a pivot toward a personal connection to the God who has always longed to be close to us. Furthermore, it represents an expansion of focus, extending from Israel to the whole world. As represented by tongues of flame of every language, this message will be unstoppable until it has spread everywhere.
Today with the disciples, we witness the power of God gifted to us: bold and untamable as a flame. And even as we are drawn into the wild, mysterious power of the Spirit, we also learn that our life in Christ is guided by this same story. As we train our tongues to tell this story, weaving it into our creeds and prayers, we realize this common theme: God’s promise has finally come—to all of us. —Amy Curran
As you pray, rest in the knowledge that God longs to be close to you.
About the Author
Amy Curran is a gardener, a reader, a runner, and an avid coffee drinker. She lives in Durham, North Carolina, where she runs a community garden and a farm-to-table café for Reality Ministries.
