TUESDAY 3.14.23: Become More Childlike
From Luke 9:51 on, Jesus was purposefully going to Jerusalem. (He arrived in Luke 19:28-30, on what we call Palm Sunday.) For Luke, this framed every event to follow: Jesus was going to Jerusalem and the cross. But that didn’t alter his basic mission: he continued to help, to heal, to humbly show mercy while calling for serious commitment.
Reflection
• Luke 9:57-62 (like Luke 8:19-21) may trouble you. Jesus honored family loyalty and love (e.g. Luke 2:51-52, John 19:26-27). He did say that the kingdom is “even more important than the claims of family, which are themselves the most important normal claims a person can have.” *
• Has any loyalty (e.g., family, company, school, etc.) ever tugged you to ignore your loyalty to God? If that happens, which loyalty will you choose?
• The disciples squabbled about which of them was greatest. They tried to stop a person who wasn’t “one of them” from using Jesus’ power against evil. Yet Jesus said they needed to become like a child (verses 47-48). What’s the difference between a trusting, childlike faith, and the kinds of childish behaviors the disciples were showing?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you knew where you were going, and you knew why. Give me an inner compass that discerns the course you are calling me to follow with my life. Amen.
1Wright, N. T. Luke for Everyone (New Testament for Everyone) (p. 98). SPCK. Kindle Edition.