Matthew 10:16 – “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”

Our new reality in Christ is that Jesus is sending us out back into the world that we were rescued from like sheep among wolves. Wolves eat sheep and that is what Jesus is warning us about how we will be treated as his followers and disciples - there is reason for real concern.

Sheep are usually considered dumb animals, but Jesus says, “be shrewd as snakes,” Or in other words, don’t be stupid like a sheep, but be sheep who are wise and “street-smart.” “So vulnerability, not stupidity is the point of calling us sheep. So yes, go among wolves as you preach/live the gospel, but when they lunge at you, step aside. When they open their mouths, don’t jump in. And not only that, be innocent as doves. That is, don’t give them any reason to accuse you of injustice or immorality” (John Piper). It is easier to be one of the two, but difficult to be both. Without shrewdness, innocence can just be naiveté. Without innocence, shrewdness can become manipulation.

We do not need to be afraid because Jesus’ fierce love for us shown on the cross is more ferocious. And we live, breathe, move, sleep in his love through the Holy Spirit. We are not alone, never alone for he is with us and his unfailing love is with us.

Today let’s thank God for his fierce love in Jesus’s coming and dying for us. Let’s keep receiving and remaining in his fierce sending love as we yield to his Spirit moment by moment. Let’s pray that we would embody this love and be both shrewd and innocent in the Spirit, so that others may see Jesus and his love more and more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II1JKBuz-AY

-AP