Apollos is excited to the moon and back

Dan Harper November 25, 2024 1 0

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Acts 18: 25 (NRSVA)

25 He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord; and he spoke with burning enthusiasm and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.

Over the last short while I have been catching up on the Great British Bake Off, an enjoyable and easy bit of TV to watch. One of the themes for one of the episodes was 70s Week. And they focused on making modern versions of classic 70s desserts. There were profiteroles, banoffee pie, and a gateaux all to be made. Which took me back to extended family parties in the 80s, held in low ceilinged rooms, with disco lights flashing, and a groaning buffet table. 

As I watched GBBO I was transported into those low-ceilinged rooms by the Black Forrest Gateau one of the contestants had made, full of chocolate, cream, and cherries. It looked delicious. Almost as delicious as 7 year old me found the ready to be defrosted Sarah Lee version, a staple at the family parties of the late 80s. I was surprised at how visceral the memory of this frozen cream cake was. Full of enthusiasm, I am sure that half of each Black Forrest Gateau was served into my happy face. 

As we continue with Apollos, we see that his enthusiasm for Christ was unwavering. He spoke with passion and was knowledgeable of the life and teachings of Jesus. However, there was a gap in his knowledge. Apollos only knew of the baptism of John the Baptist and not about baptism by the Holy Spirit. He had a blindspot. 

Going back to the daft child I was, I had a blindspot. As I grew, I realised that at the other end of the buffet table lay the homemade Bakewell Tarts. The gateaux were so good they held my attention, but when I encountered the Bakewell Tarts, they were life changing. 

Apollos maybe thought he knew everything, but he had a blindspot. And the most difficult thing about blindspots is that we don’t know what we don’t know! And this is especially true when it comes to a life of faith. It is hard to be actively humble enough to know that there are things we don’t know, keeping our mind open to new ways of thinking. We might say we do it, but it is hard. 

You can be the most enthusiastic person in the world about Christ, you can have been to church every Sunday forever. But you don’t know everything. I certainly don’t know everything. And harder still, we don’t know what we don’t know! And that is the challenge, to enthusiastically share the love of God, but knowing we don’t have all the answers. 

Let us pray:

God, help me to be enthusiastic about my life in faith, and all it brings. Sharing with honesty and humility that reaches to the moon and back.   

Amen