Thursday after the Fifth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on July 13, 2023 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 9:51-56 (NKJV)
9:51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, 52 and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. 54 And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?”
55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. 56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.
Devotion
There is a broadness and depth to God’s grace. God knows how frail and weak we are. Jesus puts up with the unbeliever. He is tolerant of the unbeliever. He gives the unbeliever chance after chance. He does not immediately bring judgment upon the unbeliever. He wants to let him have many chances. And even with the believer, Christ is patient. We are all full of ignorance, error, and even unfaithfulness. The earth does not open up and consume us.
Jesus loves the one who returns to Him after sin. Our Lord wants us to be long-suffering with our brothers and sisters just as He is with us. Let us not be quick to bring judgment down upon our brothers. God will bring all things about in His own time. So many saints of old were full of error and did things we would never do, but they confessed Christ; they loved Him, and in their frailty, they followed Him. They didn’t need to be perfect. They just needed to trust Christ for their life. The Son of Man came to save men. He will overlook as much weakness as He can to save men. The grace of our Lord is great.
Prayer: O God, Who hast prepared for them that love Thee such good things as pass man’s understanding: Pour into our hearts such love toward Thee, that we, loving Thee above all things, may obtain Thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
