Jesus Will Rebuke Your Blind Spots
The discipleship group I am in at my church is reading through Luke right now. It’s a group of four men who meet every week to read, pray, and keep each other accountable in the Christian life. In todays reading, I was struck by Jesus doing something that may feel strange at first glance: rebuking.
When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. 53 But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 And they went on to another village.
-Luke 9:54-56
Blind spots
We all have blind spots in our lives. Actions, reactions, ways of living, ways of talking, postures of our hearts that are not in line with the way Jesus would have us walk. The difficulty is, well, they are blind spots. We cannot see them.
It is the same with the disciples. They had just been sent out to heal people and preach the Kingdom of God. A bit of arrogance probably creeped into their hearts. “Jesus choose us… we have power…” And when they are confronted with a town that did not receive Jesus, what is their first instinct?
“Lord, do you want us to call down fire to consume the town?”
Do you sense the over-eagerness of immature children here? Jesus’ response is to rebuke them. Not out of a desire to condemn or make them feel terrible and unloved. But out of a desire to correct and heal. A call to better.
We learn two lessons from this story:
1- Jesus will rebuke us, out of love.
You may say “dang, Jesus really was rough with them.” But consider that it is the most loving thing to do for Jesus to point out their wrong heart and call them to better living, then to let them continue in immature and unloving ways.
Yes, Jesus does rebuke, but it is for the good of people He loves and will die for. Not to condemn them.
2- Jesus does not give up on us when we are immature.
Jesus does not leave them, though they are immature. They are learning, growing, and Jesus is content to use them and work with them even though they don’t always get it right. He doesn’t leave them simply because they misstep. He points out where they went wrong and then invites them to follow Him to the next town.
For us
After reading this I found myself praying “God, rebuke me where I need it, point out my blind spots so that I may live and honor you in a more thorough way.” Do we ask for this? How do you think God would answer this prayer? He may bring something to mind or send conviction over a specific way of living. But He may also remind you that He’s given you a group of people around you, whom you should invite into your life and seek their feedback on your way of living.
Often times, God rebukes through loving friends who know you well. So invite their feedback into your life.
Thankful for God’s rebukes,
Josh.
