5 March - Luke 17

Good morning! Today we’re reading Luke 17 in the Tattoo Church Reading Plan. Here are a few thoughts:

1. Right away in the first few lines of this chapter Jesus drops some bombs. He tells us that people are going to mess up but he reveals that we definitely don’t want to be the person who causes someone else to sin.
2. Then Jesus talks about forgiveness, even to the point of forgiving someone 7 times in a single day! To the Jewish people he was talking to this was insane. They were only required by law to forgive someone up to 3 times a day; 7 times probably never even entered their mind.
3. Next, Jesus tells a story about a servant. The point of the story is we are to humbly serve and not expect anything in return.
4. Next we read a story about Jesus healing 10 lepers but only one came back to thank Jesus.
5. From verses 20 to the end of the chapter Jesus uses the phrase “Son of Man” a lot. This was a name he used for himself frequently. It spoke of his humanity even though he's God.

This reading today kind of jumps all over the place but there are two things I would like to focus on. First, is the idea of humbly doing our “duty,” as Jesus put it. Jesus is speaking of those of us who follow him. Because we understand the grace God gave us we can serve everyone and not think of ourselves as better than anyone.

Second, at the end of the chapter Jesus tells us, “Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” Sounds like Jesus is a bit confused here doesn’t it? He’s not, he’s talking about our choice to follow him. If someone chooses not to follow Jesus the Bible teaches us that they will ultimately lose their life, now and the afterlife. However, if someone were to metaphorically “die” in this life; that is choose to follow Jesus and follow his plan for their life, then the Bible teaches us we gain true life now and in the life to come. It’s also dying to all the mistakes and failures we made in our old way of living life and starting fresh. For people who experience the unbelievable grace God offers, the idea of giving up our plans for our life and follow God’s is not only possible; it’s the only reasonable response to God’s love we have experienced.

If you haven’t yet decided to follow Jesus; does the idea of having a fresh start on life sound appealing? If so, we would love to explain more about this to you. Please contact us at Tommy@ThickerThanBlood.org For those of us who follow Jesus; does this idea of “dying” to follow Jesus make you think of life in a different way? Does it help you think of serving others in a different way?