Friday

Luke 10:13-16 (NLT) – The Pain of Missing the Promise

“What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse. ¹⁴ Yes, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you.

¹⁵ And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead.” ¹⁶ Then he said to the disciples, “Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me. And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God, who sent me.”

I’m guessing that very, very few of us are energized by conflict...  Most of us (self included) prefer to avoid it.

But Jesus’ work—divinely ordained—is not always accepted...or followed.  (Why do we keep publishing studies stating that better health is obtained when we exercise regularly and eat plenty of fruits and vegetables?!)

As we go about the work of Jesus in our family, congregation, workplace, school, and community, we’ll encounter those who will receive God’s message and God’s help with gratitude.  There will also be those who are suspicious or downright angry.  Some will have genuine reason...because they’ve been burned by Christians.  We haven’t fully purged selfish or fearful motives from our almsgiving...or our prayer...or our fasting (see Matthew 6 again).

But imperfect as we may be, Jesus urges us not to back away or be discouraged.  When our heart is in the right place (kept closely connected to God in prayer), then it’s not “personal.”  People are not rejecting us so much as they are rejecting God.

The tricky part is to make sure that our attitudes and behaviors are not getting in the way of the good news of God’s gracious love in Jesus. --P/T

Pray & meditate:

Lord Jesus, keep my heart set on you.  Holy Spirit, give me the strength and the discipline to keep connected in prayer and focused through fasting.  Father of all, grant me insight to see my family, friends, and neighbors as your beloved...those whom Jesus came to heal...and raise up to new life.