Miracles and their scarcity in today's world: a simple diagnosis
When Jesus sent His disciples on their first ever missionary trip, He told them not to secure financial support for themselves before they go. They were not to carry a purse or bag. Rather, they should rely solely on the goodwill of their hosts. According to Jesus, “a labourer is worthy of his wages.” You may wish to read the account in the Bible (Matthew 10:5-15).
The thinking here is that the disciples were offering valuable service to the residents of the cities and villages that they were visiting, and as in all professions, they were entitled to remuneration for their work. Their work though was of a different sort. In all these places where Jesus sent them out, they were to “heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers and cast out demons.” Wow! In our world today, people would pay a lot to have these ‘services’ rendered to them. Yet these services were not for sale. “Freely you have received; freely give,” was the commandment of the Master (verse 8). His only requirement was that those that benefited from these amazing acts should provide bed and board for his messengers (verse 11).
The idea here is this: are we losing out on seeing dramatic miracles in our world today because we despise God’s messengers? We withhold support for missions and missionary work, and so there is no release of the message. The messengers shake off the dust of their feet – an expression that tells us that they retain no memory of ever having come into contactc with us. Not even the lightest thing from us (our dust) clung to their bodies; they received nothing from us whatsoever – and they move on. I am convinced that if people are more supportive of mission work, they will see more of mission power, gifts and grace released towards them and others. Be blessed today. Amen.
The thinking here is that the disciples were offering valuable service to the residents of the cities and villages that they were visiting, and as in all professions, they were entitled to remuneration for their work. Their work though was of a different sort. In all these places where Jesus sent them out, they were to “heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers and cast out demons.” Wow! In our world today, people would pay a lot to have these ‘services’ rendered to them. Yet these services were not for sale. “Freely you have received; freely give,” was the commandment of the Master (verse 8). His only requirement was that those that benefited from these amazing acts should provide bed and board for his messengers (verse 11).
The idea here is this: are we losing out on seeing dramatic miracles in our world today because we despise God’s messengers? We withhold support for missions and missionary work, and so there is no release of the message. The messengers shake off the dust of their feet – an expression that tells us that they retain no memory of ever having come into contactc with us. Not even the lightest thing from us (our dust) clung to their bodies; they received nothing from us whatsoever – and they move on. I am convinced that if people are more supportive of mission work, they will see more of mission power, gifts and grace released towards them and others. Be blessed today. Amen.
posted by Shegs at 12:44 AM
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