Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.22 But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”
Dear God,
I have seen the work of Your hand in my life. Sometimes, Your hand moves in dramatic fashion with miracles that leave me staggering with wonder. Sometimes, Your hand moves slowly, steadily, transforming my life toward the character of Your Son, Jesus Christ. The slow, the steady, the immediate... each is miraculous when crafted by Your gentle touch.
I find myself accustomed to Your touch. I expect it. May my expectation be pleasing to You, and never become one of thankless apathy. You had your fill of thankless apathy in Chorazin and Bethsaida. Your miracles left those folks unmoved. May indifferent disregard never characterize my response to Your tender care.
William Barclay described much of the world as indifferent to You. "There is no hostility to Christianity; there is no desire to destroy it; there is blank indifference. Christ is relegated to the ranks of those who do not matter" (William Barclay in The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 2, p. 14).
But if I act, if I do something for You, if You begin transforming others through my obedient action, apathy may soon turn to angry opposition. John Wesley asked his early evangelists as to the success of their revival efforts, questioning the number of souls converted to Christ as well as the number of folks who became angry!
If I genuinely embrace the reality of Your miracles in my life, and if that faith moves me to action for You, my obedience will run cross grain to a sinful culture. Apathy will turn to anger. "Crucify him" will become the cry of the secular progressive agenda, and the cross they erect will be intended for me.
Give me a desperate courage to move beyond any apathy, indifference, or inaction. Help me to obey Your call to challenge the culture, to live against the grain of received views of complacency and self-satisfaction. Forgive my indifference, the indifference of my people, and empower me to obey Your call to be different.
In the Name of my Savior,
Amen.
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