The Gospel of Luke: Jesus is for everyone – Being a Christian is not about status, titles or power
Luke 9:46-62
Mountain top experiences don’t last forever. We have to come down to earth. After the Transfiguration Jesus had to deal with arguments amongst His disciples. Fresh from the failure of not being able to drive out the demon from a young boy they began to argue about their status.
- Being a Christian not about status, titles or power – It’s not about how important we are, it’s all about Jesus. How sad that Jesus had been speaking about His forthcoming death on the cross and all His disciples could do was argue about who was best amongst them.
Being a Christian is about welcoming those without status – without titles or without power. Jesus used a child to illustrate this. He turned the social pyramid upside-down. When we welcome those without status, titles or power, we welcome Jesus and therefore we welcome God Himself (vs 48). - Being a Christian is not about judging, excluding or vengeance – The person casting out demons was not a disciple. He had succeeded in casting out demons where they had failed. How do you react to hurt and rejection? Do you look for vengeance or look for ways to move on?
Being a Christian is about blessing and encouraging others. - Being a Christian is not about making empty promises – How often do we make promises to Jesus that we do not fulfil?
Being a Christian is about living a life of sacrifice -There is a big difference in saying we will do something and what we actually do. The proof of our promise to follow Jesus is how we live.