January 3 Blessed Vision

Luke 10:23-24 Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
 
HAVE you ever stopped to bless someone? I’m sure you have. Perhaps at the market, you’ve stopped a mom you saw speak kind words to her child and said to her, “You are a good mom.” Maybe you’ve led a work crew at church. You stopped near the end of the work to say, “I’m really glad we could do this together.” Or you might have taken a few seconds at a family meal to say, “I am very blessed to have such a family as you.”
   As we have been studying Luke, we have seen God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit activate the Kingdom of God on earth. This kingdom inauguration was accomplished through many activities: John’s birth, Jesus’ birth, Jesus’ baptism, Jesus’ temptation, Jesus’ mission statement, Jesus’ preaching, Jesus’ choosing the disciples, Jesus’ healings, Jesus’ resurrections and Jesus’ sending out the 72. You could say God is very busy! Much needed to be done, and he did it.
   But now Jesus briefly pauses the kingdom busyness to offer a King’s blessing to the Twelve. He reminds them of their extraordinary privilege to be with him, to hear him and to see his work! We would be prideful if we said, “You are blessed to be with me.” because we are fallen people who become good only in God’s power.
   But Jesus is not prideful. He is the Holy God, who tells his disciples, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.”  Again, he is elevating his identity to the disciples to prepare them for their ministry. These men must very personally know Jesus is Lord of Lords, the Promised One. They will have to defend Jesus to the Jews with such preaching as, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38-39) The disciples’ full faith would overcome great opposition.
   What do you do? Do you stop to hear Jesus speak to you through the Holy Bible? Do you put your life on pause to consider how privileged you are as “many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it (the Kingdom of God) and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” You have been granted an eternal privilege in the history of time. As you consider the Holy Trinity, your sin and, “I am saved.” live in God’s joyous blessing upon you.
 
Prayer: Father in Heaven, you have blessed me with eternal life. I pray for a true, personal understanding of this incomparable blessing. In Jesus’ name, amen.