REJOICE IN THE LORD

Luke 10:17-24

Our gospel today is the conclusion of the mission of the 72 disciples. By this time, they had returned to the company of Jesus, bringing along exciting stories about their success in their missionary activities. They are excited to share these stories with their master as they say: even the demons are subject to us because of your name. On the side of Jesus, He shares this same feelings of excitement but takes it at a new level; a higher level. “Do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

Jesus tells His disciples not to take joy in their own success; he tells them that what they have accomplished did not flow from their own competence, but from a power of God. They should be glad, not because they have been successful, but because they are citizens of the Kingdom of God. This message applies to us as well. As Christians we must be very careful with success. We must be very careful when things go well in our lives.  Jesus calls us to always remember that with success comes the danger of pride.

What we must practice is a continual rejoicing in the things God has done for us whether we experience success or not.  As Christians, our names have been written down in heaven. And we can rejoice in the Lord regardless of the circumstances around us. We can rejoice because we are God’s instruments. We cannot be successful on our own; it is only with and through Jesus that we can accomplish great things. Jesus says it himself in John 15:5: “apart from me you can do nothing.”

It’s God’s gracious will to give success to the humble. And our blessedness comes not from what we are able to do but from the fact that we have been chosen as the instruments for God to do his work, and to make his Kingdom a reality here on earth. No matter how successful we might be, our hearts should always have an attitude of thanksgiving! An attitude of gratitude to God.