First published in The Living Church Daily Devotional

A Reading from the Gospel of Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. 2 He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go on your way; I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ 6 And if a person of peace is there, your peace will rest on that person, but if not, it will return to you. 7 Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9 cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.

17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” 18 He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19 Indeed, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Devotional

Instead of rejoicing in our power (because whatever power we have, it is not truly ours), Jesus encourages his followers to rejoice in their redemption and in God’s mercy. Christ models this by humbling himself before God the Father, recognizing his position and rejoicing in his sonship.

If we move ahead to verse 21, we hear this humility clearly:

“At that very hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants.’”

To be clear, Jesus is not promoting anti-intellectualism. Instead, he's reassuring those who are poor and needy, for whom the brokenness of this world feels particularly burdensome. Unlike how this broken world works — where those who are most important, most educated, most wealthy, and most powerful are preferred by kings and by the gods of other religions — our God actually prefers the poor and needy. He prefers those who are willing to humble themselves before God and approach as a child.

Children have nothing to brag about. They are (hopefully) eager to learn and grateful for whatever they are given. Children are aware of their lack of power and inability to care for themselves. They’re aware that they can’t know or do everything.

How could you bring your neediness to the Lord today? What practical steps could you take to put yourself in a position to receive from the Lord?