Unpopular Walk

My hope and prayer is that as the week winds down that God’s blessings have been upon you in a special way. I also pray that somewhere in your day, there has been a space for your personal devotional time with God.

Luke 4:21-30 tells of the “unpopular” and rocky start to Jesus’ ministry in none other than Nazareth, the town where he was raised. As Jesus stood to read the Scriptures and apparently to elaborate on them, the people, who without a doubt included some childhood friends, relatives, and teachers, were amazed by the way he spoke of the word of God. At the same time, their question, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son” kind of sounds like, “Isn’t this Jesus who played with us and went to school with us?” At any rate, Jesus quickly outgrew is grandiose homecoming.

Jesus reminded his “friends” that God’s universal love was for all and not exclusive to Israel. In fact, Jesus continued, God at one point chose to work His mighty acts through two Gentiles, a widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian. Jesus took an unpopular stand with this unpopular statement as he introduced an unpopular walk.

Our walk as disciples of Jesus will sometimes be unpopular. Why? Because in God’s kingdom if you want more, you have to become less, if you want to be great, you have to serve, and if you want to live, you have to die. Popular culture (i.e. the popular walk) says that the more you have the greater you are and then you are really living.

Jesus perhaps could’ve taken a more “popular” approach to his hometown. But he chose the unpopular walk of the kingdom which can be summed up in pleasing and glorifying God, loving God and neighbor, and in serving God as we serve others. The unpopular walk involves a Christ-centered approach to life vs. a self-centered one. It is about asking, how can I be more like Christ? And less like the patterns of popular culture?

Has your journey as Christ’s disciple ever required an “unpopular walk”? If so, know that Jesus has walked that walk and still walks that walk with us.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, to walk with you is not always popular. Help us to walk with you in obedience, always keeping in mind the purpose and ways of your kingdom. In your name I pray. Amen.

By grace alone,
Pastor David