Which is nearer to the middle of your life as a Christian: what you’re doing for God, or what God has already finished for you thru Jesus Christ? Which one grounds your id extra deeply, impacts your temper extra steadily, rouses your passions extra extremely?
Your reply to those questions will deeply form the steadiness, tenacity, happiness, boldness, and humility of your Christian expertise. Jesus needs to offer you grounds for unshakable pleasure.
Joyful Return
There’s a second within the Gospel of Luke when 72 of Jesus’s disciples return from a ministry journey. They’ve been therapeutic the sick, casting out demons, and proclaiming the approaching kingdom. Now they’re again, overflowing with pleasure. They are saying,
Lord, even the demons are topic to us in your title! (Luke 10:17)
As the remainder of Luke’s Gospel makes clear, demons are highly effective non secular beings against Jesus. So, it’s outstanding that they’re topic to Jesus’s followers in Jesus’s title. Think about discovering {that a} fierce, rampaging lion will meekly obey your verbal instructions. You’ll be amazed.
Higher Than You Suppose
Jesus doesn’t dampen the keenness of the returning disciples. The truth is, his first response is to tell them that issues are even higher than they suppose.
He mentioned to them, “I noticed Devil fall like lightning from heaven.” (Luke 10:18)
In different phrases, it’s not simply the demons who’re topic to Jesus but additionally their chief. The ministry of Jesus and his followers cripples Devil’s affect. The dying of Jesus robs Devil of all grounds for accusing sinners earlier than God. The resurrection of Jesus defeats dying itself. Devil’s downfall is inevitable.
And that’s not all. Jesus goes on:
Behold, I’ve given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the facility of the enemy, and nothing shall harm you. (Luke 10:19)
Not solely has Jesus given his followers authority to win a decisive victory over their non secular enemies (symbolized by serpents and scorpions); he additionally ensures that nothing, completely nothing, will harm them. He doesn’t imply they’ll by no means get sick, endure, be persecuted, or die (Luke 6:27–29; 9:23–24). However he guarantees to maintain them secure from each non secular assault as they belief in him.
In essence, Jesus says to his joyful followers, “What’s occurring is healthier than you think about. My victory is extra complete than you notice. You’re safer and safer than you understand.”
Properly-Grounded Pleasure
At this level, we’d anticipate Jesus to name his disciples to rejoice not merely within the subjection of the demons (as they’re already doing) but additionally within the function they’re taking part in in defeating Devil himself. However that’s not what Jesus does. The truth is, he begins by telling them not to rejoice within the demons’ subjection.
However, don’t rejoice on this, that the spirits are topic to you . . . (Luke 10:20)
Jesus isn’t saying that their ministry is unimportant. He isn’t saying that we should always by no means rejoice when ministry goes nicely — the apostle Paul did precisely that (Romans 16:19; 2 Corinthians 7:9). However he’s calling us to root our pleasure in one thing deeper than what God is doing by us. He takes us to that deeper place in a single brief phrase:
. . . however rejoice that your names are written in heaven. (Luke 10:20)
Right here is strong floor for sturdy pleasure. Here’s a firmer basis than the best attainable non secular successes, a floor of pleasure extra steady than even the astounding victories of Jesus’s first followers. We’re saved. God did that.
Written by God
Once I stroll into the gymnasium of our native center faculty to vote in primaries or normal elections, I come to a desk in entrance of the voting cubicles. A volunteer sitting behind the desk asks my title after which checks to see if I’m recorded on her listing. Provided that my title is there can I vote.
Every time our household boards an airplane, I maintain onto our tickets even after we’ve settled into our seats. Why? As a result of if another person boards after us and claims the identical seats, I would like to have the ability to show they belong to us. Our names are on the listing!
“Think about having the ability to rejoice in your worst ministry day and to stay humble in your greatest.”
Voting and flying are small privileges. How a lot better to have your title recorded on the census listing of heaven. Jesus says the names of God’s individuals are already written down, which means our everlasting future with God is assured. Discover too that Jesus says the disciples’ names “are written.” It’s a passive verb — what many theologians name a divine passive. No human being — nevertheless gifted, sort, completed, spectacular, educated — will get to write down his personal title in heaven. Solely God does that. Think about God writing your title.
Some years in the past, I obtained handwritten notes from the editor of a writing venture I used to be engaged on. The editor was J.I. Packer (1926–2020). I treasured these notes! However right here is one thing infinitely higher: God himself has recorded in heaven the title of every follower of Jesus. He is aware of us personally. He’ll hold us eternally. Our future with him is assured.
Off the Efficiency Seesaw
Jesus’s instructing spares us grief and provides us grace. Once we root our pleasure in ministry success, we’re more likely to expertise what a pal of mine calls the “efficiency seesaw” — feeling good about ourselves when our ministry visibly thrives however insecure and insufficient when it doesn’t. That seesaw will go up and down from sooner or later (or hour) to the following, leaving us dizzy, disoriented, unstable, and sad (belief me, I’ve spent a while on it).
We are able to trip this seesaw even after we acknowledge that God in the end provides ministry success. In any case, the disciples acknowledged that the demons had been topic to them within the title of Jesus, however nonetheless, Jesus known as them away from ministry as the bottom of their pleasure.
Along with placing us on the efficiency seesaw, rooting our pleasure in ministry success could create distance between us and our ministry pals by tempting us to match accomplishments, which results in emotions of both inadequacy or superiority (or each). Like a skyscraper constructed on unstable floor, every part could look superb for some time, however that constructing will finally start to lean.
Via Success and Failure
Jesus provides his disciples strong floor that may maintain their pleasure by spectacular success or seeming failure. Think about having the ability to rejoice in your worst ministry day and to stay humble in your greatest. Jesus provides us that. He invitations us to expertise the enjoyment of our salvation, the gladness that flows from what God has already finished on our behalf.
As a result of this basis is the work of God, it isn’t contingent on us. As a result of it’s God’s already-accomplished work, it doesn’t depend upon our future victories or failures. Furthermore, it unites us with each different Christian as a result of — irrespective of our intelligence, accomplishments, productiveness, or schooling — the widespread floor of our deepest pleasure is identical: God’s saving work for us by Christ.
So, which is nearer to the middle of your Christian expertise: what you’re doing for God, or what God has already finished for you thru Jesus Christ? Jesus himself invitations us to face collectively on the bottom of unshakable pleasure that he provides.
