YourNname in the Book of Life: a better reason to rejoice. Luke 10:1-11,16-20

Jesus friends believed they had plenty of reason to rejoice. But he said there was an even better reason.

In Luke 10:1-15 Jesus sent His friends out into the towns and villages to heal, caste out daemons and announce the that the kingdom of God was coming near. They were to go where they were welcome. Where they were unwelcome they were to wipe the dust from their feet. It's worth noting that Jesus friends aren't recorded here as making reports about towns where they had wiped their feet.

As a pastor I served a while back in a church 30 years after some young people left to join a cult. Members spoke, years later, of the cult leader wiping the dust from his feet after he came to visit. The symbolic act was shocking. To see someone come free after over 30 years in the cult was amazing. It seemed like a good reason to rejoice to see someone free from such power. In Luke 10:16-19 Jesus friends came back with excitement to report what they'd seen and heard as they followed Jesus. Jesus said,

I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. Luke 10:18-19 NIV

Jesus's friend thought they had reason to rejoice. And in many ways it seems to me that they did. They were seeing the evil one retreat. They were seeing the power of God at work. It seems like a good time to offer thanks. But Jesus said,

...do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Luke 10:20 NRSV

Jesus words remind us that we haven't even seen half of what God is up to in this universe. We can and often do get excited when we see God at work through the church; but Jesus knows that we have even greater reason to rejoice.