go

Luke 10

2 The harvest is so great,

     but he workers are so few.

Pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest,

     & ask Him to send out more workers for His fields.

3 Go now

     & remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.



This is one of the passages that is constantly quoted as a recruitment tool to get people to serve as missionaries, especially overseas missionaries.

I suppose it's a good one.

Jesus spoke these words to 72 of his disciples as he was sending them out in what was the province of Palestine during Roman days.

So, iow, Jesus was sending them out to villages of their own country.

I'm not saying we should only take the gospel to our own country. I'm just giving your historical context.

Of course, the fact these people went out to the rest of the country was a big step for them. In those days, most people never left their villages - they lived & died there,never going anywhere else.


But look in verse 3...

Jesus says 2 things here...



First, He says "go now"

Iow, He says take action, get on with it, leave this place, & connect w/ people in another place.

And don't wait - make it happen, without further delay.

Go can mean go overseas,

     or go to your neighbor(s) next door,

     or the person(s) at work,

     or to the cashiers & workers at the stores you trade at or the servers at restaurants you frequent,

     or to the people in your city,

     or in another city in your state,

     or some place else in the country in which you live

But I think the important factor is to GO, & to go NOW.

     We spend out lives hesitating, second guessing, or waiting for the time to be right.

I think Jesus would say to us through these words to take action, & don't wait another minute.



I think the other thing to look at here is Jesus says we're going out as lambs among wolves.

Iow, it's gonna be dangerous.

These days, we're all about being safe, secure, & treated fairly.

But it ain't gonna be like that.

No matter where the "go" takes us, what we have to tell people is not something they always are gonna want to hear.

In a world where tolerance, inclusion, & "there are no absolutes except there are no absolutes", telling folks that there's only one way to connect with God is going to be met with some negative emotions & responses.

It's not safe to tell people there is another absolute than the one they're thinking.

And many times,people will actively & cleverly work against us.



But should this keep us from sharing with people all around us the glorious way made by Jesus & the life He brings?



Well, where would you & I each be if the people who most directly influenced us to follow Jesus had been hesitant & afraid?


Exactly...


Go now, as lambs among wolves...