NOTES for Luk 10:17-24

The Lord’s disciples were people just like us. They too argued, were afraid, were vain and proud... But they knew how to trust. They followed Jesus, leaving everything behind, although they had no idea what awaited them. They cast out demons and healed the sick, believing that in the name of Jesus the demon would leave and the sick would be healed. They rejoiced like children when it worked.

It is precisely this ability, the capacity to trust, that we have lost. We need proof that we can do something; it is not enough for us to know that God believes we can do it. When God asks us to do something that we consider impossible for us, or sometimes merely difficult and unusual, instead of trusting and doing what God asks, we say to God, “Prove to me that I can do it.” And when it turns out that yes, we can, instead of thanking God who gave us this ability, we boast of our own skills.

There is nothing wrong with rejoicing when we do something well. After all, when God created the world, He said, “It is good,” and the ability to create something new is given to us by God, so we too can sometimes say these words. But we cannot say them without adding, “Lord, I thank You,” because without God we can do nothing.