Luke 6:40 - A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.
Tonight as I've thought long about the birth of our Savior that we are currently celebrating, a sober thought consumes me and Luke 6:40 captures that. Do our lives reflect that we have been trained by our Teacher, our Savior? Do we truly know the heart of our Father like Jesus did? He is such an incredible example, but I think many of us are afraid to follow our Teacher, to be perfectly trained by Him. Trust me when I say I get it. Life is hard, we struggle to survive these days. It is terribly distracting to think about where our next meal will come from, how we will pay our rent or mortgage, how we will ever find a good job again. I'm afraid we might be at risk for missing the heart of this baby who we celebrate today. Are we aware of the distractions in our lives? When Jesus entered His ministry what did He focus on? Building a big, powerful church with a huge income? I'm not against that completely, but the answer is NO! He was not concerned with that. Do you know what he wanted above all else? He wanted all those around Him to know his Father. He wants YOU to know His Father. He doesn't care that we are sinners. He doesn't care that we are crude, sick, or poor. HE LOVES us so much! Look at who he spent time with in His ministry. He was with all those who struggled, sinned, hated, and killed. His love for them surpassed their currently disgusting state of life. We need to take at least two things from this: He loves you and me no matter how dirty or disgusting we may be. Be encouraged by this. We are truly loved, WAY beyond our comprehension! Lets accept that and give our best to follow Him. Secondly, if we want to be like our Teacher we need to love the unlovable, push down our flesh and minister to those Jesus would have. It's easy to judge and hate others and to not be anywhere near them, but let's intentionally try not to do that (Luke 6:37). The character and love of our Savior is becoming so real to me and I pray it will be to you as well. I know this can be a hard change in our perspectives to embrace, but let the words of Jesus in Luke 6: 20-23 be an encouragement to us.
Father, help us recognize our lives for what they are and that you love us despite our failures. Jesus focused His ministry on people just like us. Help us follow that example and not be afraid to share your good news with everyone, even those we do not like or are uncomfortable being near. Give us your heart and help us make a difference.
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