Monday, January 07, 2019

Our Command Is Your Request

Beauty and the Beast, final Be Our Guest lyrics:
Our command is your request.
I've been reading through Luke and noticed that there are so many instances of Jesus telling his disciples and those he healed to do something and them doing exactly what he said. For example:

Luke 5: "Jesus said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break."

Luke 9: "When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere."

Luke 9: "He said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” The disciples did so, and everyone sat down."

Luke 19: "He sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They replied, “The Lord needs it.

Luke 17: "As Jesus was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed."

What's interesting here in Luke 17 is that the healing came through the obedience. In the moment of hearing Jesus and doing what he said, the men were healed. It's similar to one from Luke 5, where through the obedience of Simon there was a great harvest. There is great reward awaiting us on the other side of our obedience to Jesus.

Each time I've read these verses, I've stopped and thought, "How's my obedience?". When Jesus speaks (through the Bible, His Spirit, or through His people), do I take his word and carry it out exactly. Do I ignore it? Or do I hear it, but then adjust it to suit me? Do I do the easy bits, but leave out the challenging parts? Do I procrastinate and put it off for another day?

So many times in the Gospels it speaks about how Jesus spoke with such authority. I think something of that respect for authority has been lost in this day and age. We always want to know why and have all our questions answered before doing something. We often also want to voice our own opinion of we think it could be done differently or better. And granted, sometimes there is a space for that. But also, sometimes submitting to authority means trusting that the person in the position of authority has been placed there by God himself and therefore we respect and obey.

I want to live with the understanding and reality that all authority on heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus (Matt 28). In Luke 7:8, the Centurion understood the right idea of authority: "For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it." In light of that, I want to grow in both my hearing of Jesus' words and immediate and accurate carrying out of his commands.

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