Following the Way We're Sent

S - Matthew 10:16-20 (NIV): "“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."

O - Jesus sends his followers out the same way the Father sent him. This "way" includes both a challenging environment (sheep among wolves) and an equally challenging modus operandi (shrewd as snakes; harmless as doves). The combination of snake and dove, shrewd and harmless, is a tough one to get right. I can only think of only one attribute of shrewd which doesn't carry a negative connotation.  Shrewd is not naive; it is fully informed. Even in the vulnerable position of being a sheep among wolves, this aspect of shrewd can work fully without any malevolent intent or outcome. We're not being told to balance a benevolent form of "street wise manipulation" and keep ourselves from slipping to the "dark side" of it. Instead, we are being told to embrace the way Jesus was among the wolves of his day: no naïveté and yet completely innocent. The key to living this way is trust, i.e. fierce personal loyalty. Jesus was fiercely and personally loyal to his Father. He trusted him completely. This is how he was sent, lived, died and rose again. This is how his followers do too.

A - Well, there I have it and no way around it. I may never be an ostrich (bury my head in the sand)or a Napoleon (benevolent dictator) and think I am living as Jesus did and how those following him must also live. "Being on your guard" does not mean avoiding or finding a way to intimidate the wolves. It does mean to accept his "way" and live out loud the fierce personal loyalty he deserves, gave his Father and offers to us (he would literally rather die than be without any of us … all 7 billion).

P - Only true Son, King and Friend,

I accept the terms of your sending … that I may continue to follow. I want to give to you the trust you deserve and offer to me. I will trust in you with all my heart and not lean on my own understanding. With you and in you I can be a sheep among the wolves - fully informed/aware and innocent. I will believe you about earth and not just about heaven. I admit that apart from  you I can do nothing. With Isaiah I say 'here am I send me.'

Steve