Luke 10:16 (NIV) “He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
The disciples always had to remember that the mission that they were on was not their own mission; it was Jesus’ mission, and they were merely acting as His advance team, as emissaries of His kingdom. Therefore, they were not to take personally either their successes or their failures; either the praise from those that they were reaching out to, or their rejection.
If they were rejected by the people of a town, they needed to immediately remind themselves that the people were rejecting not them, but Jesus and, by extension, God Himself. And if the people received their message, it was Jesus that they were receiving, not them, and, by extension God Himself. Thus, if they did their job faithfully and with their whole hearts, there was no room at the end of the day for either pride or shame at the outcome.
Even today many Christians are afraid to share the good news of the kingdom with others, betraying a fear of being rejected. Others take pride in the number of people that they had led into the kingdom. But today it is still Jesus’ mission, and we as God’s people are merely acting as Jesus’ advance team, His emissaries. So now, just as then, no one who is obeying Jesus’ command to go and make disciples of all nations should take personally either their successes or their failures; either the praises of those that they are reaching out to, or the rejection of those people.
If we, as God’s people, are faithfully doing this vital work of the kingdom with our whole hearts, there is no room at the end of the day for either pride or shame. Instead, each of us should simply say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.” (Luke 17:10 NIV)
Father, I admit that I can easily allow too much of myself into Your mission, allowing myself to take personally both the successes and the rejections when I am sharing the gospel with others. But Jesus’ point is crystal clear: it’s not about me at all, but 100% about Him. Help me to adjust my sights, to shift my worldview on this issue, so that I can simply be faithful in serving You without either pride or fear. Amen.