Christian Reflection and Prayer

By Rev. Wayne Palmer

Lenten Devotion

(Jesus said) "You are those who have stayed with Me
in My trials, and I assign to you, as My Father
assigned to Me, a kingdom, that you may eat and
drink at My table in My kingdom and sit on thrones
judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Luke 22:28-30).

Read Luke 22:28-30.

Though Jesus was generally well-received by the crowds
throughout His ministry, He faced ever stiffening
opposition and hostility from the Jewish religious leaders.
But the disciples faithfully stood by Him through it all.
Peter said it well: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have
the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have
come to know, that You are the Holy One of God"
(John 6:68b-69).

Jesus looks around the table at them. A moment ago
they disputed which of them was greatest, but He knows
in the future they will suffer as He will-beatings,
imprisonment, exile, even death. So Jesus points them
beyond those sufferings to the glorious reward that waits
for them at the end. When their earthly lives are
completed, they will receive a greater honor, privilege
and glory than anything they could have sought on earth.
Here they will serve in humility and suffering, but in
heaven they will find true glory and honor. The promise
is true for you and me as well.

Though our daily work for the Lord often seems to go
unappreciated and unrecognized, Jesus assures us that
God marks it well and will faithfully reward it in eternity.

THE PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, thank You for teaching us a new way to
think about ourselves and our place in Your world. Help
me grasp the beauty and grandeur of it all, that I may
live as You did, in humble service and self-sacrifice.
Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)