In the social sciences, unintended consequences are outcomes that are not the ones foreseen and intended by a purposeful action. We see that phenomenon at work in Acts 8. According to St. Luke the authorities in Jerusalem want to squelch the nascent Jesus movement so they launch a persecution. Those first followers of Jesus flee the city but that has the effect of spreading the gospel in wider and wider circles. The unintended consequence of the persecution was a missionary movement. No doubt the Believers looked upon the persecution as something negative — but God could transform this seemingly negative thing into a greater good. When we are going through some difficult period we should have faith that the consequence that matters is the one God intends.
