August 18th

The Mission of the 70

            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.  Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.  Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.

Luke 10:1-12

            Jesus paired up his followers and sent them out into the world to proclaim healing and hope.  They were to go to complete strangers, ask for free lodging and meals, heal the sick and tell the gathered strangers that Heaven was near.  And they were to do all that without any supplies or backup plans…no extra money or clothes.  God would provide.  God would have to provide.  What, in that scenario, could they control?  They couldn’t make someone generous enough to take them in. That would be God.  They could not control whether the sick that they prayed for would be healed. That would be God.  They could not control how the crowds reacted to them.  That would be God.  They were in an incredibly vulnerable situation where they voluntarily chose to depend on the provision of their unseen lord.

            I’ve lived on faith before, wondering if money would come in.  Sometimes it did and I got paid; sometimes it did not and the paychecks were held until funds arrived.  That life is filled with stress and wonder, depending on the day.  God’s miraculous provision is an awesome thing to witness in person.  The meeting where God led someone to hand me a $40,000 check will remain in my memory for a long time.  Even when the money was not coming in, God took care of my family and I with donated food and supplies that sustained us until the next paycheck came.

            Walking into a new social setting with our kids is an extremely vulnerable experience as well.  We cannot control how that room responds to us.  We cannot control what our child is going to do that will draw unwanted attention.  Oftentimes we cannot even control whether we arrive on time or have to leave early.  What we are hoping for and looking for is God’s provision.  We are hoping that He has prepared the hearts of someone in that room to look at our family with love and generosity instead of annoyance and scorn.  We are hoping that there is someone who is interested in reaching out and inviting us into their lives.  We are hoping that our kids can feel comfortable with the lighting and the sound level and the new setting.  We are hoping that being somewhere new will not destroy the rest of our day and keep our child from sleeping the rest of the night.

            So why bother going anywhere other than home?  Because our children are like the followers of Jesus.  They are completely dependent on God for their survival and when they go to a place, they bring a message of healing and hope.  They usually don’t preach…although my son loved to talk into any microphone that he could find when he was young.  Those strangers who are willing to invite us into their lives have a chance to see God’s hand at work in our kids.  If they are able to stick around with us long enough, they will be able to see how our children grow and develop and are healed.    If they watch our family and see how God moves in our kids, they will see the fruits of the spirit and determination and grace and hope and persistence.  They will see the ‘least of these’ setting an example of generosity for those who have plenty.  They will see the marginalized reaching out and caring for the lonely.  They will see the passionate love of parents who refuse to give up on children that the world has rejected and see the heart of God the Father on display.

They will see and they will know for certain that the Kingdom of God has come near today. 

            That is the gift and the calling that our children have been given.  It is awesome…and it is terrifying…and God is with us through every single step of the journey.

A moment to reflect:

How does the life of your family proclaim that the Kingdom of God has come near?