Now the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”
Luke 10:17-20
This scene wraps up the first missionary journey the disciples were given by Jesus. Seventy of them went out in pairs to the various cities and “heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” God supernaturally empowered these disciples to fulfill their duties as needed. Upon their return to our Lord, they were rejoicing. But they were not rejoicing because their mission was completed well. They were rejoicing because of the great power He had given them. The power to heal the sick and to drive out demons was a means to an end: to preach the gospel of the kingdom. Jesus refocuses their attention on what is truly important by giving them an eternal perspective. To have your name recorded in heaven is to have eternal life, a treasure greater than all the power or wealth you could possibly accrue.
Maintaining that eternal perspective is a difficult task. The day to day burdens of life tend to cloud our judgment and call the wrong things into focus. Consider the foolishness of a child whose whole world seems to collapse in on itself because her toothbrush was not where she expected it. Or the silly anxiety you may have felt before a big exam in high school. Neither of those things had a lasting impact on your life here on earth, but in the moment when you were young they meant everything. Be assured you still do this. I certainly do.
When I was working at a small public university in Wisconsin, I was once given the task of putting together an historic list of all the University of Wisconsin regents over the years. I am certain each of those cohorts of regents had extremely important and impactful decisions to make. But do you know what I discovered? No record of their rosters existed. They were not available online, nor were they kept at the library in Madison. The closest I could find were disjointed and incomplete meeting minutes dating back to the 60s and 70s that listed regents in attendance, but not those who were absent. So even this relatively recent and very important job, which was certainly a blessing to those who held it, had already faded into the wide abyss of history.
What will the testimony of your life be at the end of it all? Will you be known as someone who was always full of anxiety and stress, focused on the here and now, or will you be remembered as a calming presence in the face of adversity? Will you be the one who rejoices that your name is written in heaven? No gift you have here on this earth compares to the lasting promise of eternal life with the Lord in His renewed heaven and earth. Know that even His gifts fade away, as we learn in 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 “Love never fails, but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away…” Be faithful with what you have and do not allow the beautiful things God has given you become the object of your adoration. Instead, go with love, fixing your gaze upon Jesus who has promised to return and set all things new.
May the Lord bless you and conform you into the image of His Son.
Leave a comment