“Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her.” Luke 7:11-12 ESV
Reflection: how can we know what is our Father’s will for us to do today?
If you ask someone you know well, a friend or a colleague, to meet right now for a coffee and a chat, you might get a response of “let me check my calendar” answer. And then you get squeezed in a few days later. Even with all the great technology we have, we somehow seem to get less and less in control of our time, especially less
in control of moments.
You know, the opportunities of the day. One of the aspects that impress me greatly when studying Jesus life and ministry, is how he found time for everything he did. Think about this for a moment. Jesus mission was to save the world (mankind), to bring the good news of this gospel to all mankind, and he basically had three years to do it. And yet we read these stories, such as about the centurion yesterday, and today about this widow that had lost her only son, where it seems as if Jesus has all the time in the world
for these moments.
He didn’t rush to the synagogue to speak, nor even to the town square to speak to the crowd. Let’s read what happened in this case of the widow. “And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.” Luke 7:13-15 ESV.
An amazing story, right? And a story that has been read by millions and millions, giving hope and inspiration to many, and glory to God. But, if we put ourselves in Jesus shoes for a moment, thinking of the bigger mission, would we have prioritized this woman, this funeral, to stop and spend time on? Probably not. Yet, this is exactly what Jesus did. Because that
was the Father’s will.
Jesus was in tune with the moments of the day, not letting them slip by him. Paul wrote something that many followers of Christ know by heart. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 ESV. But, what are these “good works”? Are we truly looking for them, or are we looking for bigger fish?
Let’s learn from Jesus, to be better in tune with these moments, to see the opportunities that our heavenly Father has created and is orchestrating so that we can do His will today.