Day 161: Luke 9:51–56

When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” (v. 54).

James and John remind me of two little boys holding their popguns, jumping up and down, pleading: “Let me shoot! Let me! Let me!” The difference is, this was no game. They wanted to call down the fire of God. They were eagerly asking for permission to be agents of massive, irreversible destruction.

Nothing is more permanent or terrifying than the destruction of the lost. We ought to be scared to death to wish such a thing on anyone. Eternity is a long time. So even when punishment comes to the terribly wicked, we are wise to remember with deep sobriety, humility, and thankfulness that only grace saves us from a like sentence.

We know this world is filled with wickedness. As Christ’s present-day disciples, we will no doubt be offended when people reject the Savior the way the Samaritan village did on this day. God’s desire, however, is for us to pray for His mercy, for His Holy Spirit’s conviction, and for their repentance rather than their judgment. Christ said even of those who hammered the nails into His flesh, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

God is indeed the righteous Judge. When Christ returns, those who rejected Him will literally cry to the mountains, “ ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ ” (Luke 23:30). Judgment is coming, but may the thought of it cause us to weep, plead, and pray. Never boast about being saved while others are not. Only one thing stands between us and the lost: a blood-stained cross.

Dear one, I know this may be coming across to you as quite harsh. But please know that this message was written with such love. I have been the worst of transgressors in so many ways. No matter how common these attitudes are, they are terribly offensive to Christ. May we humble ourselves before Him, repent, and daily choose to lay down the albatross of our own egos.

Oh, God, give us a longing—not for the sin of this world to be judged—but for the sinners of this world to be forgive.