Do you ever find yourself just going through the motions of what you perceive is expected of you as a Christian?  Ever find yourself in a joyless funk where you feel like you’re just going through the motions of faith?  Every once in a while, its really good to get back to the heart of what this life of following Christ really has going for it…to sort of shake us out of our malaise and reignite our passion and excitement for the kingdom project Jesus started whilst on earth.

Our passage in Luke will be chapter 10:17-24 this Sunday.

As the 72 (or 70, your choice) return from their mission, they are pretty stoked.  They give a reason for that joy, and Jesus affirms it, and that is…Jesus WINS.  If Jesus wins, who loses?  Why is that a reason to be joyful?

We do have Jesus qualifying their stokedness…reminding them that they don’t want to look at what they’ve done, nor even what they may do as being the SOURCE of their joy…what IS the source?  Why is that a reason to be joyful?

In so many ways, this journey Jesus takes from Galilee to Jerusalem is a picture of the church age, and even the end of the story.  It’s a good ending, an ending prophets and kings were longing to see fulfilled in their day.  If the story has a good ending, then all adversity that happens in the meantime is simply part of the adventure.  To me, that seems like a good source of joy. What about you?