Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Today’s Scripture: Luke 10:1-12
“After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Luke 10:1-2)
“Will God ever ask you to do something you are not able to do? The answer is yes - all the time! It must be that way, for God's glory and kingdom. If we function according to our ability alone, we get the glory; if we function according to the power of the Spirit within us, God gets the glory. He wants to reveal Himself to a watching world.” ― Henry T. Blackaby, Experiencing the Spirit: The Power of Pentecost Every Day
As we have been looking at the kingdom of God, we have discovered in scripture that Jesus’ purpose and parables are his method for calling us to enter and receive the kingdom. In our scripture reading today, we discover that Jesus does not want us to keep it to ourselves, we are to share it. When Jesus proclaims the kingdom of God, Jesus tells us this kingdom announcement is literally the beginning of a new order of things. Jesus was a herald of a whole new way of living and thinking about our lives, both personally and as a community. From the start of Jesus ministry, this kingdom proclamation was expected to change the world and Jesus called people to join that change, beginning with their own lives.
The kingdom of God turns all the other kingdoms on their head, brings forth the unexpected, challenges our preconceptions of our world around us, and breaks open the unpredictable. We are called to show people how to love God and their neighbors and thereby bring new hope and faith to the lives of our neighborhoods, families, friends, communities, nations, and the world. The world around us is longing for unpredictable ministry of hope, longing for a place where they belong in mutual love and respect, and a place where the grace and presence of God is evident in the lives of those around them. When people witness that kingdom of God actually being lived out, they are first surprised by it and then attracted to it.
So Jesus needs us to become participants in sharing the kingdom of God with the world around us and it is not an easy task, but as Jesus tells us today, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” We are called to add to the numbers who can enter and receive the kingdom. So Jesus needs to train others to share the kingdom, just as we need trained to share the kingdom.
Jesus selects seventy of his followers and gives them some instruction and experience in sharing the kingdom and peace of God. He tells them there is a cost to living in the kingdom. It can sometimes be uncomfortable and challenging. Jesus is confident we can do it, by helping to ease people into the kingdom.
Jesus tells us we can start by identifying our own natural circles of relational influence, those at work, family, neighbors, friends, etc. Pray for the deepening of connections with nonbelievers in those circles. As a relationship deepens, pray for that person’s life needs and how God can prepare you to respond by looking for ways to tangibly serve and care for them.
Ask God to build their spiritual curiosity and give you opportunities for spiritual conversations. Talk about your experiences in following God, both the good and the bad. Let people know that if they ever want to discuss spiritual things, you would love to do so.
If the harvest is plentiful, our job is simply to be available to labor and to risk our personal comfort on behalf of people who don’t yet know God. That is all Jesus asked of the seventy. Jesus does not expect us to do it alone, we should have a partner and Jesus is sending us where He himself intends to go, “sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go.” (v. 1)
Martha Grace Reese, director of Unbinding the Gospel, a project on evangelism in mainline denominations, writes in one report introduction, "Evangelism books presume everyone wants to do evangelism, so they tell you how to do it. Six years of national, Lilly Endowment-funded research in nine denominations have demonstrated conclusively that most people would rather get a root canal than think about evangelism. You can tell people to 'go be missional' until the cows come home. They just won't do it until they want to."
Reese explains, "If we answer the 'WHY share my faith?' question, we'll start wanting to know 'HOW can God use me to help people move into faith?' Our churches can't share their faith until they're loving, relational communities where people (1) pray and (2) talk comfortably with each other about their own faith experiences. Once our churches make this shift, we'll want to know HOW to share our faith."
Jesus set up the kingdom to be spread through his first followers, and that’s still his intent for the church today. It’s viral. You can truly experience the kingdom only by expanding the kingdom. When those first seventy returned to tell Jesus of their experiences, Luke tells us they returned with “joy.” (v. 17) In 1 John, John claims that bearing witness to Jesus is what makes his “joy complete” (1:4). How can you today make your joy complete? How can you in your daily life share the kingdom with others?
Today’s Lectionary Readings
Morning: Psalms 34; 146
Evening: Psalms 25; 91
Jeremiah 25:8–17
Romans 10:1–13
John 9:18–41
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