“Strangers are just friends waiting to happen.”
Author unknown

After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. Therefore said he unto them, “The harvest is truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest. Go your way: behold I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor script, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.” (Luke 10:1-4)

Jesus not only had twelve disciples, but had as many as eighty-two. That is a large ministry. The support needed to keep eighty-two disciples up and ready must have been the work of many other people. They say for every soldier that goes into combat it takes nine behind the lines to support his mission. I know this to be true from my experiences in Vietnam. Most of the people in Vietnam during the war had logistic, command, supply, and support jobs for the infantry that walked the ground. Also in the Air Force it took hundreds of people to get one fighter jet airborne and ready for combat. As I study this scripture this morning I am made aware of a couple of aspects of Jesus’ ministry. One was that He sent out disciples by two’s ahead of Himself. I see this as a long range recon patrol used to prepare the people for Himself and His message of hope. They were to travel light. When you are in enemy territory you don’t need to be burdened by excess baggage. I find this to be very good advice today when carrying the message to alcoholics who are still drinking. Travel light and never go alone.
The other aspect of this scripture that caught my attention this morning is when Jesus said, “salute no man by the way.” Exactly what did He mean by that? When I was in the army I was taught to salute officers. I was taught to be quick about it, to do it with purpose, and to not slouch or do it in a sloppy manner. It was a show of respect for the rank of the person wearing it. I remember being told that we were saluting the rank and not necessarily the person. I did well in the army; after all I was a child of a career soldier and had spent my early childhood as a dependent of a soldier. I had no problem saluting the officers, it’s just that I respected some more than others. Those were the times when I saluted out of respect for the rank the person had obtained. Today I still find myself using the military salute as a greeting to other men. Often when I do I recall to my mind the words of Jesus, “salute no man by the way.” Today I have clarified this verse and realize that it is okay to salute someone else as a greeting and show of respect. Share with me what the Dake Bible has to say on this verse:
“This does not imply the renunciation of common courtesies of life, for Christians must be courteous (1 Peter 3:8), but it does refer to those vain and tedious ceremonies by which Eastern manners consumed precious time and to no purpose. Greetings sometimes would be repeated 10 times with many bowing and asking of the health of everyone in the family.”
Many times the highlight of my day will be the greeting of another believer. Often I feel a sense of being lifted up, even when we don’t speak, but at a distance salute each other. Today I salute you for allowing me to share my experience, strength and hope. Sharing is a wonderful part of my recovery from alcoholism that strengthens each new day. God is still doing for me what I could not do for myself………………..JRE

“Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime.” MARTIN LUTHER