Luke 14:12-14
Find a place and time free of distractions for the next 7-10 minutes. Take a moment to settle into your surroundings and then begin to recognize your breath. As you breathe in, call on the name of Jesus and become aware of his presence with you. As you breathe out, open your mind and heart to receive whatever Jesus has for you today.
As the story of Jesus’ dinner with the Pharisees continues, read Luke 14:12-14 keeping in mind Jesus’ words about having the confidence to be humble.
In this passage, Jesus paints a picture of the upside-down realities of the Kingdom of God and invites his Pharisee host to experience the kind of rich and satisfying life available to those who embrace the Kingdom ways.
Jesus explains that purposefully holding out hospitality and generosity to people who cannot return the favor results in great satisfaction - in contrast to the emptiness and futility of pursuing status through the “right” relationships.
When we are confident in our identity in Jesus, the temptation to position ourselves for significance loses its grip on us. Instead of spending our time developing transactional relationships that we hope will boost our image or popularity, we can become conduits of God’s blessing to anyone in our path regardless of their fame, wealth, or status.
How does the idea of purposefully seeking to bless those who cannot “pay you back” strike you? Think of a time when you did something like this and try to remember what resulted from your actions. Then talk to Jesus about it for a while.
Read Luke 14:12-14.
Our “no strings attached” generosity and hospitality may not always result in immediate reward, but Jesus promises that whenever we do good to those without the means to respond in-kind, God sees and remembers. And over time as we practice these acts of kindness, we become more like the one gave up everything for us though we could never begin to repay him.
Get still for a moment and recognize the presence of Jesus in you and around you. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you specific ideas about how you could live out this teaching of Jesus.
Then listen. Notice any feelings that arise as you listen to Jesus and share these openly with him. Allow him to lead you to the root of these reactions.
Stay with this for a while.
What might Jesus be revealing to you today?
Is there something you need to do in response?
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