On one occasion the seventy disciples returned with joy and said, ‘Lord even the demons submit to us in your name.’ He replied, I saw Satan fall like lighting from heaven, I gave you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy. However do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your name is written in heaven.” Luke 19:18-20 Jesus said, “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your name is written in heaven.” It would be very easy to see this as a throw away statement. We think yes we need to rejoice because we are saved and going to heaven. But that is not what Jesus is saying here. In the context Jesus is talking about our attitude to service. He is saying that our service must flow from our awareness of belonging; in the Hebrew mind a person’s name was far more than a title, it was his identity, it was who he was. So when Jesus says ‘rejoice that your name is written in heaven’, he is saying the thing that brings you security and joy is not the fact that you can deliver people from demons, nor is it found in having authority, nor is it found in you having the ability to cope with the pressures of life, rather your identity and joy is found in the fact that your names are written in heaven. In ancient times cities kept a register of their faithful citizens; and when a man died, his name was removed from the register. Those whose names were written in the register knew that they belonged. And is the bottom line, having a deep sense of belonging to God. I have met so many Christians who are full of feelings of guilt, who are driven and exhausted as they desperately try to win God’s approval and love. They have a sublimely theology that says, ‘ If I do all the right things, and cast out demons, stand on scorpions, serve God well, be the best, then God will love me that little bit more.’ That is not how God works. Too many corpses of faith are buried on the mission field. Many good people left to serve God without really grasping the absolute centrality of the grace of God for everyday living. Many have ended up confused, angry, lonely and deeply scared by years of performance. This was never how it was meant to be. It there is one lesson we should learn from this passage it is we should learn to belong, we should be less eager for success and become more eager to grasp the truth that we belong to a loving God.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 08:28:05 +0000
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