Luke 10:8-12

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 we continue listening in as Jesus gives his instructions to the seventy-two disciples, read Luke 10:8-12 taking note of anything that stands out to you.

One characteristic of humans that sets us apart from all other created beings is that we have the power to choose. We are rational creatures who can observe a situation and decide how to respond or come to a fork in the road and select the way we want to go. God has endowed us with the divine privilege of choice.

The tension lies in the fact that God is bigger than our finite minds can contain, so to know God, we have to embrace many ideas that are beyond the scope of rational thought. And that requires faith.

Jesus charges the seventy-two disciples to demonstrate the presence of God’s Kingdom through miraculous acts of healing and to proclaim that the Kingdom is near with their message. But Jesus makes it very clear that they are not responsible for the results. The people to whom they go will be accountable for their choices, and they can either respond with faith or reason away what they have seen, heard, and experienced.

Stop to consider how you deal with the tension between rational thought and the mysterious nature of God. Are you more prone to respond to the work of God in and around you with faith, or are you more likely to be skeptical?

Talk with Jesus about this for a while.

Read Luke 10:8-12 again.

It’s true that God is patient with people, but there comes a time when everyone must own their own decisions. The Kingdom of God is near because God came near in Jesus, and the activity of God is happening in and around us daily if we choose to see it through eyes of faith. To ignore or reject the activity of God because we cannot fit it in our rational brains is a tragic choice.

For the remainder of your time in meditation today, get quiet and focus on the presence of Jesus. Breathe in the name of Jesus and breath out a one or two-word prayer – whatever your heart wants to ask him. Then listen.

What is Jesus inviting you to do today?

Will you?

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