October Bible insights
30/10/2018 - Luke 17:17
'Jesus asked, "Where then are the other nine?"'
'Jesus asked, "Where then are the other nine?"'
Ten lepers came to Jesus. They were all healed. One returned to say, ‘thank you.’ The other nine didn’t bother to make the effort – they had what they wanted. We all know where to turn when we get desperate. Getting fixed enables us to get on with our lives.
Is life really about getting healed or answering questions or even getting fixed. It’s great when those things happen – but what happens when we get ill again or need answers or fixing again? Well, we can just keep going back, can’t we? Perhaps not. Perhaps because he loves us, the Lord will ask us what we really want.
So, what do we want? A fix-it Christianity? One that makes our problems disappear? Makes life easier? Or do we want something that will absorb our every thought, will open up a new dimension of life, will bring major challenges and demand engagement at the deepest level? Or, to put it another way, are we prepared for relationship? That is what we are being called to when we hear the call, ‘Follow Me.’
Relationship demands everything of us. It isn’t partial or superficial, it isn’t when we feel like it. It involves setting our face towards the one we are relating to, giving our full ‘deep down in the heart’ attention and putting that person first. It is true of our relationship with God and with each other.
A disciple of Jesus actively pursues truth and wisdom, searches it out and doesn’t wait until he’s desperate. He fixes the roof while the sun is shining so he is ready for the storms. He has opinions and passions and knows how to be his own person. He depends on God’s approval and not that of others. If God decides not to heal, or fix the problem or even answer the questions, then he trusts because he is rooted in relationship. James was beheaded while Peter was set free. He trusts in the sovereignty of God.
Where do you stand in this – with the nine or with the one?
Is life really about getting healed or answering questions or even getting fixed. It’s great when those things happen – but what happens when we get ill again or need answers or fixing again? Well, we can just keep going back, can’t we? Perhaps not. Perhaps because he loves us, the Lord will ask us what we really want.
So, what do we want? A fix-it Christianity? One that makes our problems disappear? Makes life easier? Or do we want something that will absorb our every thought, will open up a new dimension of life, will bring major challenges and demand engagement at the deepest level? Or, to put it another way, are we prepared for relationship? That is what we are being called to when we hear the call, ‘Follow Me.’
Relationship demands everything of us. It isn’t partial or superficial, it isn’t when we feel like it. It involves setting our face towards the one we are relating to, giving our full ‘deep down in the heart’ attention and putting that person first. It is true of our relationship with God and with each other.
A disciple of Jesus actively pursues truth and wisdom, searches it out and doesn’t wait until he’s desperate. He fixes the roof while the sun is shining so he is ready for the storms. He has opinions and passions and knows how to be his own person. He depends on God’s approval and not that of others. If God decides not to heal, or fix the problem or even answer the questions, then he trusts because he is rooted in relationship. James was beheaded while Peter was set free. He trusts in the sovereignty of God.
Where do you stand in this – with the nine or with the one?
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