STRETCH-------

Matthew 10: 1, 6-10
1He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness…
…6Go … to the lost sheep of Israel 7As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' 8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; 10take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep.

This week I celebrated my 3rd year of working for UC Clermont. Since I’ve worked there my abilities, knowledge, emotional well-being, and spiritual life have been stretched in many different directions. I learned to drive in downtown Cincinnati (well, sort of), I’ve learned new software (lots of it), and I’ve been more challenged spiritually than I even thought possible. I can’t imagine how the 12 Apostles felt.

The men Jesus chose must have stretched like rubber bands. We are talking about men who catch fish all day or work at other everyday occupations. Now they are asked to heal the sick, preach and raise the dead. I wonder if they looked at Jesus with wide eyes and said, “Are you kidding me?” and “We can’t take anything with us?” Knowing what we know of the Apostles, they looked at Jesus with faith and trust and picked themselves up and went out as Jesus asked them. Oh to have that kind of faith, to be pulled out of our comfort zone and sent out to do work that is totally new and foreign.

Everyday Jesus wants to stretch us if we’ll let him. The great thing is, He’s with us in every step.