Spiritual Prep Cooks

Read

Luke 10:1-2 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

What it is speaking to me:

My first job was in a kitchen as a dishwasher. Eventually, I worked my way up to line cook, and one of my jobs was doing prep work. That could involve all sorts of things: cutting vegetables, preparing salad ingredients, baking bread, making desserts, and putting together side dishes. It all had to be done before the restaurant opened so that, when orders started coming in, we could get them out efficiently.

What stood out to me in this reading is that Jesus sent the disciples two by two into the places where He Himself was about to go. They were like gospel prep cooks. In a way, we all are. The Spirit of God is always moving, always working on hearts and minds. He is preparing people for the gospel.

Then we go where the Spirit has already been at work and share the gospel, and we never really know whether what we are about to say will be the moment someone truly meets Jesus. In that sense, we are going out to where He is about to be.

Going where the Lord of the harvest is sending you is essential to being a good prep cook in God’s kitchen. Our job is not to force the harvest. Our job is to show up where He sends us, do the work in front of us, and trust that He knows what He is preparing.

What is it saying to you?

Where has God already been at work around you that you may have been too distracted or too intimidated to notice?

Who in your life might be more ready for a word about Jesus than you think?

What are we going to do about it?

Go in confidence wherever God is sending you today. Know that He has gone before you, and He will still be at work after you leave.