The Calling of Every Christian Right Now is to Be The Messenger
We all have a calling to be a messenger of the word of God. The Samaritans were a people who had mixed the practice of Judaism with worldly practices. This group of people would liken to today’s description of the “secular” audience. Although they had traces of adherence to Judaism, they also had components of their culture that were inherently pagan. They had a reputation among the Jews as an idolatrous and unclean people who “missed the mark” of perfect Judaism. But we quickly read in Luke how messengers were out."He sent messengers ahead of Him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for Him." - Luke 9:51Before heading to Jerusalem, Jesus sent messengers ahead of Him, who made preparations for His soon-to-be arrival. He sent them out in close proximity to the time of his crucifixion and ascension to heaven.
Similarly, Jesus is coming back soon and He has dispatched us as messengers to prepare the way for Him.
As the Lord’s messengers, we are called to make preparations for His return, while having contact with a present-day Samaria. Where has God dispatched you in this world to be a messenger on His behalf? How can we use this revelation to guide our posture in the places God has set us in?[easy-tweet tweet="As the Lord’s messengers, we are to make preparations for His return." via="no" hashtags="DailyPS"]Sometimes, we lose sight of why we are where we are. As children of the Light, we are intentionally and purposely set in places to bring glory to God and proclaim the message of the Gospel. Two of the disciples, James and John, struggled with this like we often do. When they entered Samaria and realized that the city did not receive Jesus, they said:
“Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” - Luke 9:54
Immediately after, Jesus turns around to rebuke them.
It’s possible that the disciples were mistaken about their purpose for being where they were. They were there to be messengers on behalf of Christ, not to blanket their own judgement on the people who rejected Jesus. Was it easy for them to do this, considering they way that the Samaritans were already unfavorable to the Jews? Were they consumed with pride in that moment and not able to be messengers?Maybe, just maybe, their compassion for the lost was fleeting as they became distracted about their role as messengers. We sometimes have temptations to look down on people in the world. We are consumed with arrogance rather than seeing them through the lens of the love of Jesus. When we see God through the correct lens, we are able to love people and understand our role as His messengers.
Related Post: If you can remember to do one thing, remember to love.
Jesus has called and dispatched us as a messenger for a purpose. He has a plan for us to be messengers of the Gospel on His behalf, to share the truth in love, and stand as His ambassadors. Let’s seek Him always and pray that our hearts be continually in transformation to match His.