'… The water’s lovely!’ So say my outdoor swimming friends. Apparently it really is good for you, but I am yet to be tempted out of my warm winter jacket. As Paul and Barnabas return to Antioch via the recently planted churches, their encouragement doesn’t ignore the cold reality of the hardships these new Christians could expect. In choosing the long route home, through cities that had hindered them, they demonstrate the value of ongoing relationship (even in itinerant ministry) and local leadership, and embody their exhortations. How might it change our approach if we saw problems as a pathway towards God?

‘… The door’s open!’ Back among their sending community, Paul and Barnabas share stories of God’s work, and this is the heart of what they celebrate together. God, in his grace, has thrown wide his heavenly gates to welcome people of every nation into his family, just as was promised. Those considered outsiders but always on the invite list can come in, freely. God has taken his messengers into new territory. He has opened a door for the Gentiles – and they have entered. Divine initiative in partnership with human response has launched the early church into the final phase of her outward-rippling, Spirit-empowered role (Acts 1:8).