Day 100: 1 Samuel 3-6; Luke 12:35-59; Day 2 Prayer Journey

We sat in the last row of the plane despite our mid-range B designation for Southwest Airlines...lots of families heading to Florida for Easter break got preferred seating. Divine appointment. The woman in our row was heading home from celebrating Passover with her 'very conservative' Jewish family. One of the first disclaimers she used in describing herself to us was: "I am a bad Jew! I really like juicy, cheesy burgers." It was her humor shining through. She had spent the week not mixing meat and dairy. In the process of the conversation, I am reflecting on today's prayer emphasis. "The core of the Great Commission is the radical inclusion of all ethnicities, languages, sociopolitical tribes, and people who are in any way different from the first disciples. More than inclusion, the disciples are called to go to them wherever they may be - across the ideological aisle, across the room, across the street, across the ocean" (Ryan Green). How, in a two-hour flight, do you accomplish that? When you and I realize that we are part of a global family, then we know that our two-hour part is but a fraction of the time that God is pursuing this self-proclaimed 'bad Jew.' He has Family members everywhere, every day, who are crossing her path. The secret is 'presence ministry'...for all of us! I love Green's conclusion about "Jesus' preferred future for humanity: people immersed in God's presence taking on God's character as their own and inviting others into the same relational process of transformation into the likeness of Jesus." It seems as though there might be a good mission statement in there.