We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. Acts 4:20
Why do I get up early every day to write this blog? Maybe I write simply to feed my ego. Pride is an ever-present temptation. If I were in it only for self-adulation though, there’s got to be an easier way than writing about my drug addiction and life struggles.
Back in 2014, when I came out of treatment, one of the many lessons was that I must daily abandon my way and point my life at God. I’ve not lived perfectly, but in the last five years, I’ve not missed a day at getting up early to read, pray, and meditate. Early on, I began recording my experience in a journal, which, in 2016, I turned into a public blog. Why take it public though?
Today’s passage provides some insight into the answer. In the story, Peter and John were arrested by the religious authorities for telling others of Jesus, whom those same authorities had recently crucified. Unable to charge the disciples with anything substantial, they were let go with a warning. They called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:18). Peter responded, Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. Whether it was popular or not, the disciples, having firsthand knowledge of Jesus’ transforming love and grace, could do nothing but tell others of him. It was the only proper response to what they had experienced.
This is where I find myself. My life was a disaster until I began to follow God instead of me. Where I once knew only destruction, addiction, and misery, I now know life, recovery, and joy. Because Christ daily saves me from myself, my only proper response is to be obedient in telling others about him. I’m no street evangelist or preacher, so I use what I can – this blog – to share the message.
In AA I learned that, We keep what we have by giving it away. I’ve come to understand that part of faith and recovery is sharing with others what God has done for me. If I refuse to be obedient, I return to following my way, which is what led to my addiction in the first place. So, I write daily, because I can do nothing except tell others of what he’s done in my life.