Day 162: Luke 10:1–16

Whoever listens to you listens to Me. Whoever rejects you rejects Me. And whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me (v. 16).

This concept Jesus taught in verse 16 is something else I love so much about Him. In many ways, He says to those who belong to Him and who seek to do His will: “Don’t take rejection personally. Let me take it for you.”

We see this principle at work in Acts 9. Saul set out to persecute Christians, but Jesus came along and knocked him off his donkey. “Falling to the ground, [Saul] heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ ” (Acts 9:4). Beloved, can you accept that Christ takes very personally the unfair things that happen to you? Consider a couple of reasons why we are wise to let Christ assume our rejections:

1. Only Christ can take rejection without being personally incapacitated or hindered by it. Who can begin to estimate the mileage Satan gets from rejection? We have an overwhelming tendency to take it personally. From a bit of rejection Satan can get anything from a mile of discouragement to a thousand miles of despair. But Christ says to us, “Let Me take it personally for you. It can hurt Me, but it can’t hinder Me.” David had it right when he wrote, “Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me. Take up shield and buckler; arise and come to my aid” (Ps. 35:1–2).

2. Only Christ can properly respond to rejection. We are often powerless to do anything about it. In fact, our attempts at responding to it often make the situation worse. We don’t fully understand what lies at the heart of rejection. We cannot judge another person’s intention or motive. But Romans 2:2 assures us that “God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.”

I love to hear Keith say, “Elizabeth, let me worry about that.” In essence, Christ says the same thing to us. If we suffer rejection, let Him worry about it. Let Him take it personally so we don’t have to. Besides, even Jesus has Someone to shield Him from the blow of rejection. Take one last look at Luke 10:16. “He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me, but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” Trust His big shoulders, beloved, to be strong enough to take whatever others dish out.