This is why we are sent too!

Reflecting on Luke 4:42-44

"I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." (Luke 4:43)

The whole purpose of Jesus being sent is to proclaim the good news of the kingdom.
At first this seems like a narrow mission; didn’t He do so much more?
But as mentioned earlier, to proclaim is more than words.
The word is eu (good) angelos (message), from where we get ‘angel’.
The angel/messenger is the medium through which God works.
The words and the works belong together.

Jesus is as much enacting good news as He is announcing it.
The many things Jesus did showed that God was doing something.
He enacted goodness for all people, rich and poor, insider and outsider.
He healed, fed, restored, delivered, blessed people from all towns.
His message was not for the select few, it was meant for everyone.
This is what the angel said to the shepherds.
“Good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” (Luke 2:10)

This is what God’s kingdom was meant to be.
This world under a ‘very good’ human leadership, everyone blessed.
No sorrow, no suffering, no sickness, no poverty, no injustice, no inequality.
No violence, no selfishness, not cruelty, no abuse.
A world filled with love, joy, peace, patience and kindness.
A world filled with goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
This is how Jesus lived, and this is what Jesus shared.
The kingdom of God – this world as it was meant to be – was experienced.

This is what God wants for everyone.
Think of our world today, how this is not the case.
People are divided, hoarding to themselves, hindering others.
The blessings of God in the world are in the hands of the few.
People do not join with Jesus in filling this world with good fruit.
And sadly that includes many who claim to follow Jesus.

The reason that our world is not experiencing good news is not a failure in Jesus.
It is not that God has stopped working through word and action in the world.
It is that God’s messengers have failed to live up to their divine calling.

“We must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why we were sent!”

I am where I am, you are where you are, to proclaim good news.
To announce and to enact God’s better way, God’s better world.
To be and to bring goodness to the poor, the weak, the oppressed.
To be and to bring blessing to the suffering, struggling and straying.
As Jesus followers, this is why we are here.
We are God’s messengers of goodness, God’s mediators of grace.
Our part of the world should be filled with more good fruit, because we are here.
More filled with love, joy, peace, patience and kindness.
More filled with goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

We need to stop preaching at or against people.
We need to start showing and sharing goodness to all people.
We need to stop dividing between us and them, the good and the bad.
We need to start showering God’s blessing on all people, the good and the bad.
This is what it means to be followers of Jesus.
This is what it means to be sons and daughters of God.

“Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:35-36)

May we as Jesus followers and children of God regain a sense of calling.
May we become, like Jesus, who understand the divine necessity we live under.
We must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to all others.
Because that is why we were sent, this is why we are here!

PRAYER
Lord Jesus, may the people who interact with me wherever I am experience Your goodness through me. Help me to be an angel of goodness. Help us to be good news people, being and bringing God's goodness wherever You send us.