Of What Spirit Are You?

Luke 9:51-56 Jesus was going through Samaria for the express purpose of going to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. This must have been mentioned by the disciples that He sent ahead to make arrangements for His visit. The Samaritans let them know, in no uncertain terms, that Jesus would not be welcome in their town. When the word came back to Jesus and the rest of the disciples who were waiting, the immediate response of James and John was to call down fire on the town and destroy them. After all, rejecting the messiah was serious business and it would certainly set an example to the other towns. Elijah had called down fire on the groups of soldiers that the king had sent to get him. (II Kings 1:1 Off) Jesus responded with a rebuke, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them’ (NKJ) The disciples seemed to be looking more in terms of a military or political agenda, rather than reaching out to rescue souls for eternity. They had enthusiasm and zeal, but their motives were all wrong. They were jealous for Jesus’ reputation, but had lost sight of His higher purpose. They wanted notches in their guns rather than souls for the kingdom. We may not come to the point where we call down fire from heaven on people, but how quick we seem to want to write them off when they don't fit into our mold. People don’t fit the assembly line method. They need to be loved, understood, prayed for, and encouraged. They need to be led into a relationship with Jesus weather or not they ever have a relationship with us or our church. Just as God has shown us grace and patience, so we need to extend the same. Let us examine to see of what spirit we are and get on His page.