A few weeks ago, I was teaching a class, and had them all up in arms about my take on Luke 8, which I have already related here, which requires us to declare our message. They were firmly convinced that what mattered most, if not exclusively, was showing our love for others and Jesus. Luke 10 shows that at times love can, in and of itself, be a most effective means of reaching others. (in the parable of the good samaritan) Still, this does little to grow us. Our level of reproduction, if we wish to actually be good soil, must be much higher. Love is simple obedience, and a side effect of serving Jesus.

Meanwhile, the 70 were sent out to confront every kind of evil, and when rebuffed, moved on with declarations of judgment against those who rejected the message. (I suggest you go read Luke 10 to catch the whole idea. What they said they said at the command of Jesus.) It was not love that was rejected, but the act of sharing Jesus' message was enough to force some of His servants out of town. While demons of every kind might have been forced into submission by the name of Jesus, still the people of those towns rejected the message.

Luke 10 teaches an interesting lesson, about the power of the church. Jesus ordered His followers to go and heal the sick. These people had a direct conduit to God's power (even as we do today) and were able to speak in the confidence of those who knew God was going to support them. While they were serving the will of Jesus Christ himself, we are infused with the power of the Holy Spirit, and promised His power as His followers.

There are very few places today in the church today where God's power is being called upon to demonstrate His love. We CANNOT continue this way. We simply are not strong enough or charismatic enough to change the world without God's power. Throughout scripture, His servants have ALWAYS been free to call upon His power. Jesus told His servants to go forth and do miraculous things. I don't understand how we can expect to make progress bringing people to God without showing them His power. It is the way He chooses to show Himself, and yet we constantly seek to make it work without Him.

It is time we again come to embrace our role as His SERVANTS, and begin to serve Him as He would have us do. We need to let God be God, doing what He does best, while we are simply there to help and not get in the way.

What is it God wants us to be doing? Is it something impossible? When the opportunity presents itself, are you going to be ready to do it? Do you know how? Are you ready? Might want to be.