Levels

And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases… Luke 6:17-18a

The verses above signify three levels of followers of Jesus.

The first level of following Him may be illustrated by the members of the large number of people. Maybe these are the people who want something from Him yet do not want what He wants for them. People who come to Him during time of their needs. They come when they are sick. They come to Him when they are hungry.  They follow Him for their benefits. They look for Him when they needed someone to look after them. And when they are satisfied, they stop following. 

The next level, unnamed disciples who may have followed Jesus closely but not close enough to be named. They were described as part of a great crowd of disciples. Luke has not identified them maybe for lack of space in the manuscript or maybe you may not remember their names since they are part of a great crowd. A person who works with you but you don't know he is a Christian- he considers himself as a silent operator. A friend who says as long she is fulfilling all church obligations and is not doing any harm to anybody then she is OK. They take the safe route when opposition to the faith sets in the discussion.

Third, the twelve disciples, these men followed Him closely and were named in the preceding verses. So, what is the big fuss about Luke's enumeration of their name? They were exposed as Disciples of Christ. Men who stood where Jesus stood (v. 17). These followers spent their day and nights with Him. They ate with Him. They walk with Him. They rested with Him or on Him. They were witnesses in everything He did. As Jesus exposed Himself to be the Savior, they exposed themselves as His followers. 

Our direction is to ascend to the levels.  May we not remain being part of the people for the rest of our lives. May we desire to be named and be exposed in following Him. May we follow Him close enough, enough to be like Him. May we step from one level to another.

Relationships Matter

Even if you should have countless guides to Christ, yet you do not have many fathers, for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 1 Corinthians 4:15

You read his books a lot and you are inspired by Max Lucado. You read tidbits of John Maxwell's principles on leadership and you are guided by him. You hear this preacher over the web and his talk gives you enlightenment. Their songs reverberate in your earpieces, gosh, Hillsong's music brings something in you. Subscribed to weekly insights of a preacher/businessman and your inbox becomes his pulpit enough to give you realizations.

Out there, we have countless guides to Christ. They point us to Jesus. They direct us to His cross. They assure us of His love. They inspire us. They put the fire in us. They prompt us to do good. And we should be to one another.

Further, Paul encourages us to be in relationships with one another. He became a father to the Corinthians. He could have limited himself as a guide for them. He could have told them, "I am your mentor." But he did not. He emphasized relationships. Here, Paul tells us that the members of the church or a community love one another. He gave the direction of being with one another. He presented that we are a family. Father to one another. Mother to one another. Brothers and sisters. Forbearing one another. Forgiving one another. Serving one another.

For Paul and for us, relationships matter.

Building a Building

For we are God's co-workers; you are God's field, God's building. 1 Corinthians 3:9

"It's facing the wrong side!" This was the informal statement of John, our friend and tourist guide in Michigan, as we traverse Traverse City. He was pointing at one hotel building that was built with its back facing the beautiful scenery of the combined green and blue of the peninsula. John told me the contractors of this building did not know they were erecting the vertical structure with its front 180 degrees from the awesome sight of nature until they have almost finished the building. He concluded that, of course, lawsuits were filed because of this terrible mistake.

How could they not notice they were building a building facing the wrong side?

How could we not notice we are building a building facing the wrong side?

When we are serving as God's workers, we face the wrong side when we depend on our skills not on His grace. When we are sowing and plowing in God's field, we turn our backs from Him when we choose the law above love. When we join our hands to build God's church or community, we shun His beauty when we act as agents of division rather than of unity. When we keep our eyes on our limitation and not on God's abundance, we build at the wrong side. When we value man's words than God's words, we erect erroneously.

May we not make the same mistake. Remember, we are His co-workers not the employer. We are co-hosts; we are not the main host. We are stewards, we are not the owner. Follow His design. Implement His plan. Build by focusing on God. Build by loving one another. Build by accepting our differences and delve on our similarities. Build by being confident of His providence and promises.

May we build God's building facing God.

The Son Does Not Set

At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him. He laid his hands on each of them and cured them. Luke 4:40

We describe it as breathtaking. We look at it with awe. We gaze with our eyes openly wide. Seconds of watching this won't be enough, give yourself some minutes. You direct your eyeballs at this site. This is the site where the light meets the darkness. This is the time when the blooming is face to face with the depreciating. As the sun bids the day goodbye, the Son does not. As the sun takes the way to rest, the Son still rides the clouds.

People who are sick with various ailments are being brought by their friends to Jesus. At sunset, at the end of the day, Jesus does not end their day. He gives them a new day, a new beginning. He generously laid His hands on them. All were touched. All were healed. All have seen the Son at sunset.

You have a friend who is at his sunset, bring your buddy to the Son. A sibling, who lives in the shadows, let him see the Son in you. A co-worker who keeps on fixing her heart on the negative, walk with her towards the Son. A relative who has given up on her health condition, pray that the Son may heal her. A brother or sister in Christ who slid back, be persistent in interceding for him or her, the Son rises for the lost.

He meets us personally. Jesus attends to us one by one. He gives time to each one. His heart is open whatever the hour of the day. His love is on-line 24/7. His healing is always available.

At the end of the day, it's not the end. The Son does not set.

Deserted

At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place. Luke 4:42a

You've been there. I've been there. We all at one time or several times spent life at that place. You look around you yet found no one. Maybe the waves of the life sent you to this island. Or a wrecked life dropped you to this place. Maybe the choices you made pushed you to this place. Or circumstances beyond your control brought you to this place. The flight of your dreams had failure and had to land in this place. You wanted to talk but no one will hear. You wanted to shout yet only the air will receive the decibels.

Almost no life. Abandoned. Alone and lonely. Your address is this place…

• Your spouse gone somewhere…
• Your friends betrayed you…
• Your siblings won't talk to you…
• Office mates ignore you…
• Brothers and sisters in church and community left you out…
• You're a leader of this group and it's lonely at the top…
• You're a member of this movement and nobody understands your struggles…
• No family and friends in actual and in virtual…

Someone will come. Surely He will. He knows where you are. He will arrive at the crack of the dawn. He will be there at first light. He will come for you are on the top of His list any day. Before He starts on anything else, He will come. Before He raises His voice with authority to preach His salvation, He will come. Before His hands touch the sick, He will come. Before His command will drive out evil spirits, He will come. Before a miracle, before the water becomes wine, before He walks on the water, before multiplying food for the multitude, He will come. He will drop everything to come to you.

Yes, before everything else, Jesus will come to you. To your deserted place. To you. The deserted.