ACTS: A Way to Live
Thursday, April 14
ACTS: A Way to Live
The Gospel of Luke—Lent 2022
Read Luke 22
Focus Verses—Luke 22: 14-15
When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat the Passover with you before I suffer.”
ACTion for Reflection: A Humble Servant
Jesus deeply ached for his disciples when Passover arrived because He knew that His time with them had almost run out. He told them at the Passover meal that this would be that last time He would share the cup with them until after the Kingdom of God had come. As soon as He mentioned the Kingdom, several of his disciples suddenly started arguing about which of them would be the greatest in the Kingdom and who would sit where. How frustrated and disappointed Jesus must have been. I can imagine Him heaving an exasperated sigh, thinking, “Haven’t any of you learned anything from Me in three years?” So, He once again explained that being the greatest meant being willing to serve others—not to expect to be served. The book of Luke doesn’t record this, but in John we read that Jesus gave His disciples an object lesson to teach them how to be a servant. He literally washed their feet the way a servant would. The disciples never forgot that lesson.
Most of us are more like Jesus’ disciples than we care to admit. We feel that others should notice that we are being a faithful Christian. Some of us may even look down our noses at fellow Christians whom we feel are not being “spiritual” enough. This is exactly what Jesus corrected his disciples for doing—for thinking that they deserved recognition. The Apostle Paul reminds us in Philippians that we need to have the attitude of Christ: “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8). During the lead-up to Good Friday and Easter, we have a real opportunity to become more aware of our own attitudes and STOP OURSELVES when we are being arrogant or judgmental. Jesus’ cure for wrong attitudes? Being a humble servant. How do we do that? We can simply think... “What would Jesus do?”
ACTion to Live Out: Be a humble servant
An idea for living out today’s lesson is to humbly serve someone who provides a service to you, like the person who delivers groceries or pizza to your home, cuts your lawn or collects your trash. Give them a bottle of water, a treat and an encouraging ”Thank-you” note. Or plan to reach out to people in need by helping out at a local soup kitchen or packing bags of groceries at the community food bank.
Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank you for teaching us how to live! After we daily reflect on your life-giving words, help us to then, through your Spirit, get up and ACT. Give us hearts of compassion, hands of generosity, and feet that take your good news to the world. What an honor it is to be your image bearer. Amen.
Audio Link to Luke 22: https://youtu.be/52vNUa5WLXw
