Devotional Thought : Luke 4:22

All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips… All the people in the synagogue were furious… Luke 4:22 & 28

So furious in fact they were ready to kill him (v.29). How quickly they changed their minds. Everything can change in a day. Everything can change in one message. Furthermore Jesus wasn’t telling them anything they didn’t already know. The stories that offended these people were stories from the Old Testament – stories they knew. Stories that spoke of God’s miraculous healing power. Jesus came with gracious words but he met violent opposition.

God’s grace and mercy towards those who were not Jews was offensive to the Jews. God was nice to the wrong people! The wrong people were being blessed and those who thought they deserved it missed out. Likewise the elder brother in the story of the prodigal son was angry (Luke 15:28). His father was throwing a party for his undeserving brother. The wrong person was getting blessed. How do we react when we see apparent non-believers being blessed and godly people suffering? Do we become angry with God?

Some of us have been Christians so long we have forgotten what it is like not to be one. We take God for granted. We start to feel a sense of entitlement. Yet the reality is we deserve nothing from God, except his wrath since we violate his holy standards. We deceive ourselves if we think that because we have been faithful we deserve his blessing. These passages teach us that it is not enough to be faithful, not enough to be his people.

God’s desire for us is to reflect his heart of compassion for people, regardless of who they are and whether or not we consider them deserving.