Jesus sent 72 disciples out to the places he was planning to visit. He gave them instructions on what to do and how to handle the opposition they would certainly face.
The 72 did as they were told and had some crazy wild experiences. (I wish we had a book of all of those!) As they reported back to Jesus, their greatest joy was that the demons obeyed them when they used Jesus’ name.
I can just imagine Jesus speaking ever so quietly as He told them that this authority was just a thing, just a momentary gladness in the face of what was truly important: that their names were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. No shouting them down, no ridicule. No. I’m sure He used their joy to reveal to them that the things of earth are minimized when compared to the things of God.
Don’t we who are believers need this message today? We are enamored of miracles, signs, and wonders. We are excited when we rebuke a demon and he flees. We are blown away when God answers our impassioned prayer with a yes. We are EXCITED!
We often then neglect the follow-through: that this excitement barely registers compared to the excitement and joy of having our names registered in heaven.
What if we learned to say something like, “God answered my prayer, I’m cancer-free! But even better than that, my name is registered in heaven!” or “I saw a true miracle today, but better than that, my name is registered in heaven!”
How would we behave if we took this truth to heart, if we would recognize that all the authority we have as followers of Jesus is minuscule compared to the enormity of what our salvation means?
I think we would become more passionate about making sure that everyone we care about have their names recorded, too.
Coffee, Bible, Journal.
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