Our Own Hands
God can do amazing things through us, but only if He knows He is doing them.
God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that when the handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, their diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them. Then some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims." Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit said to them in reply, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" - Acts 19:11-15
In today's reading form the Acts of the Apostles, we discover something about the way God works. He can use us as instruments to touch lives in this world.
Be we need to be in synch with Him before we set out to do them on our own.
The sons of the high priest thought they knew all they needed to know. They watched Paul use the name of Jesus to cast out demons so they took it upon themselves to do the same.
Only for them, it didn't work.
It wasn't that they didn't have faith. They truly believed it would work for them, so they seemed to have faith in the power of Jesus' name. What they lacked was something different.
Imagine trying to get into a concert by mentioning the name of the event manager or promoter. If security doesn't have your name on a list or if they don't know you to be one of the authorized, you will be turned away.
This is what these guys were trying to do. They wanted the power without being fully committed to the cause.
Yes, they could have done great things, but they weren't really on board with the program.
Would we even think of acting like Paul or Jesus in this regard?
I am sure most of us would say no to that, but how often do we seek God's help and promise some commitment in return? Do we keep those commitments later on?
If we don't get what we want, we can blame God. That's easy. But what if God is waiting for us to buy in to Him?
When we are learning to drive a car, we don't start out with a license. We show a commitment to the law by passing a test and then we get a learner's permit. It allows us to drive accompanied by a licensed driver who has significant experience.
Before we get our license, we need to pass a road test.
Once we pass, we become licensed to drive on our own. We are granted authority to be behind the wheel.
I think we need something like that to be good followers of Jesus. We need someone to walk with us when we are just learning to be out in the world loving our neighbors.
We need someone to say, slow down, stay within the lines, be aware of the other guy.
Then maybe we should have some test we need to pass, not a written test, but a real world example of service in the community.
Once we do that, we could claim our authority to walk the walk on our own, and begin to guide others down their path.
The sons of Sceva didn't want to be God's hands. They wanted the glory and fame God's power could bring them.
Let us not be like them. Instead, let us come to be known as agents of God in His kingdom, and let us drive out the demons that plague those we encounter on our walk.
More to come...