Reading through Acts this week as a church, I am still struck by the boldness of proclamation. Filled with the power of the Spirit, these are people who are unafraid. They don’t have the luxury of public proclamation as we do today. They had to risk. Even knowing their proclamation could land them in trouble, they proclaimed good news anyway.

In Acts 13, Paul is preaching in the synagogue, so he has the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles listening. Jews who were jealous began to stir the crowd, so Paul decided to stir the pot. He used the Jewish Scriptures to let them know that God had Gentiles in mind as well. Of course, that split the house. The Jews were angry and the Gentiles were thrilled.

But that is the double-edged sword of the “good news.” Not everyone is pleased with what that message proclaims. In a day where we want everyone happy, we’re going to be disappointed with the “good news.” We may even try to “tweek” it a bit.

The gospel is not about us being liked. It is about good news being proclaimed. What happens after that is never up to us.