When I was at school, I studied A level history. One of the topics of study was the Renaissance explorers, names like Raleigh and Drake and Columbus and Vasco da Garma, who ‘sailed the ocean blue’, discovered whole new continents and greatly increased our understanding of the world. Sad to say, at the time, I failed to appreciate this topic, since it focussed so much on geography. I struggled to care about these new lands and the goods discovered there and failed to understand the importance of these explorers to the world I currently inhabit. It’s taken years for me to realise that place is a crucial part of living, that (in Eugene Peterson’s words), ‘all theology is rooted in geography.’[1]
In the book of Acts, it’s hard to escape the importance of geography, for the gospel is set in real places as well as in real people. Many of these names are well known to us today (usually in the context of holiday destinations!): Ephesus, Thessalonica, Athens, Malta, Cyprus, Rhodes, Rome all get a look in. Others may not be quite so familiar (Tarsus, Lystra, Iconium, Bithynia, for example.) Yet the fact that Christianity was established in these places as a result of the missionary journeys recorded in this book cannot be denied. When I holidayed in Malta in 2016, the evidence of Paul’s shipwreck was everywhere: St Paul’s Bay (named after him!), memorials with the words of Acts 28 inscribed on them, the sheer number of churches evidence of the thriving faith still on the island. It reminded me of the legacy one person can leave, evidence that one person really can make an impact and a difference to whole countries.
Acts 28, telling of Paul’s arrival in Malta
We need to understand the importance of location in all we do (Paul’s message to the Athenians was phrased very differently from his message to the Jews, for example) and realise also that God has determined the times and places for us to live (see Acts 17:26). When I was younger, I didn’t want to live in the Dearne Valley. I was like Jonah, wanting to be anywhere else but where God was sending me. I had grand visions of evangelism anywhere else (preferably abroad and French-speaking), but had to come to terms with the fact that God knows the best places for each one of us. Acts teaches us that God cares about the whole world and has given us a task to do, being His witnesses first of all where we are and then taking that message of salvation to the whole world. Where is He calling you to go?
[1] ‘Under the Unpredictable Plant’ (Eugene Peterson)