Choices

2 Kings 5:1-14
Galatians 6:1-16
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

There is not a day that goes by when we don’t make choices. Some choices are subtle and almost unconsciously done out of sheer force of habit; others are planned and intentional or are knee-jerk reactions to a particular situation. Most of the time, however, we as rational humans can be pretty sure that if we take the time to weigh all the information available to us and examine the potential outcome, including possible consequences, we will make at least better choices than if we are pushed into a situation in which we may feel compelled to make a rash decision that will be based more on emotions we are feeling at that moment rather than on facts we may have available at the time.

Like Naaman from 2 Kings 5, the choices we make will almost always have been made according to its potential outcome and how it will affect us personally or those whom we love. And also like Naaman, sometimes our choices will be the result of our willingness to believe the information that is being offered to us out of desperation, even information which could be coming from questionable sources. Naaman’s source of information that Israel’s prophet would be able to cure his leprosy came from a young, captured girl from Israel. Naaman, being a warrior, might have smelled a rat under other circumstances. After all, he could be walking into a trap since the Israelite girl could possibly have something to gain by Naaman falling. According to what is written, however, Naaman could very well have also been a vain man. He obviously had everything going for him except for one thing: his physical appearance was marred by leprosy. Evidently it was, to him, worth any possible risk, or he could have been arrogant enough to believe that he would be able to overcome any threat to himself.

Often it is, I think, that the rewards or consequences of the choices we make will not always be so readily apparent. For this reason it can sometimes be easy to lose heart and give up prematurely when we set out to work intentionally for the Lord such as when we get all fired up about a new ministry opportunity. We see the disciples whom Jesus dispatched to spread the Gospel return to Him and report on what happened during their time out among the people. They apparently enjoyed enough evidence that they were, in the name of the Lord, able to excise demons! Not a bad pay-off for an honest day’s work to be able to see right away the results of faithful attention.

What about the rest of us? I cannot recall ever seeing such a transformation in anyone as a result of something I did or said and I certainly don’t recall ever “seeing” any demons submit themselves to me, so reading such Gospel stories as in Luke makes me wonder if perhaps I’m doing something wrong or not doing something enough. Worse still, I wonder if I possess the faith necessary to be able to make something like this happen or that my motive is suspect. I’ve asked the Lord for plenty for the sake of someone else but have seen more rejection than acceptance. For this reason some Bible stories are difficult for me because I wonder why such things happened then but don’t seem to happen now, and I know I’m not alone.

I think the greatest hindrance to being able to do such things is wrapped up in the fact that most of us, though we may claim the title ‘disciple’, have secular jobs that require so much of our time and attention. We just don’t have the time to devote to such discipleship that those in Jesus’ time obviously did, or at least those in this Gospel story. I don’t think this means we are excused; it just may mean that we have to focus in a different direction. I also wonder if maybe we take such readings a little too literally (“Lord, in Your name even the demons submit…”). We may have a mistaken image of evil-looking ghosts rising out of a poor person’s body and bowing down before the disciples! That image may be a little over the top for us!

But this passage does not focus on “demons”, per se, more than it focuses on the success of the ministry and the announcement that the "kingdom is near", regardless of how the message is received. The disciples are excited about what they’ve experienced, and it would appear that they could not wait to return to Jesus to tell Him what had been happening while they were out among the people. Keep in mind, however, that they were warned before they were sent out to be prepared for rejections. Given this, then, the disciples went out into the world with their eyes wide open. In other words, they were given all the instructions they would need in order to make a conscious choice in favor of the Gospel. No promises, no illusions of grandeur.

Jesus was – is – well aware that there will be rejections of the Gospel. It’s hard to imagine such rejection, but we are also aware that the Word of the Lord challenges us to reject the promises of this world in favor of promises yet to come, promises not tangible, not readily evident. For any disciple, that’s a pretty tall order. It is a daily challenge for disciples who are “of the Spirit” to reject what would normally be considered “success” for ourselves in this life in favor of a kingdom we cannot see.

We must also be mindful of Jesus’ admonition to the disciples who were overly pleased with themselves that “the demons submitted…” Maybe it is that there was reason to be joyful over submissive demons but according to Jesus, there is much more to it than they can see. According to the text, the disciples “saw” something; exactly what they were seeing we cannot be sure of, but the results of their work seemed to be immediate. The gratification we so desperately seek in this life came to them; they could see their results and know that their work was not in vain. They made a choice to serve the Lord and they were able to see something because of the choice they made, but Jesus told them that their true reward is yet to come.

The choices we have before us are not always clear. We adults can oftentimes fall back on our experiences to lead and guide us, but the danger in this is that our experiences are based on how the WORLD responds and reacts and our choices will be made accordingly.

The people of God, however, are of a whole new and different reality. It cannot be much different than the new reality of Israel as Joshua led the people into the Promised Land against all odds and formed a new nation. “Therefore, fear the Lord; serve Him in sincerity and in truth and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:14-15

The choice is before us everyday whether we make intentional or subconscious choices. We can choose in favor of the world, “the gods of the Amorites”, or we can make our choice in favor of the world that is to come. “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants my live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days…” Deuteronomy 30:19-20a

Life is always a good choice. Choose well.