When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. // Luke 9:51-53
I remember stepping onto the plane as an eleven-year-old not knowing what the other side of the world would hold. I was completely crippled with fear and yet I found myself buckled and ready to go. My twin sister and I were leaving Ethiopia to go to our new home and new family in Northeast Ohio.
A thousand questions were racing through my head while I was quietly staring out the window. Am I going to be safe? Will I be happy? Did we just entrust them our entire life? So many questions, fears, and doubts. Many of them I’m still processing and figuring out.
I was stepping into the unknown and honestly I don’t think there was anything at that moment that was going to make all of my fear go away. I had to walk through it. I had to accept that my life would be radically and unexpectedly different than I could have ever imagined. I was having to let go of everything to step into this new life.
In today’s Gospel (see Luke 9:51-56), Jesus sends the disciples ahead of Him. They step into this village not knowing if they will be welcome. Then they get rejected. While the disciples are ready to call down fire on them, Jesus shocks them by barely noticing and heads toward Jerusalem with unwavering determination.
In the text of Luke after today’s Gospel, Jesus explains that to be a disciple we have to be willing to let go of the past (see Luke 9:57-62). Jesus has a destination, a place where He knows He will be welcome. He knows that His disciples’ lives will be radically and unexpectedly different than anything they had imagined, but He offers them His plan for them.
There are times where the Lord will ask to step into our Jerusalem. He will ask us to let go of things in our past that keep us from the place He wants us to be. Sister, what is the Lord asking you to surrender today? The step He’s asking you to take could lead to something way more beautiful than you could’ve ever imagined. Journey on with Him.
Mary Peach lives in Atlanta and is passionate about helping others encounter Jesus in a real and personal way. Born in Ethiopia and adopted at age eleven, she shares vulnerably about faith, healing, and redemption through every season of life. Through her work in ministry and her writing, she hopes others feel less alone in their stories and more deeply known by God. In her free time, she enjoys photography, travel, pickleball, and spending time with friends and family.
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