As you enter the home, greet its occupants. If the home is worthy, let your peace rest on it; but if it is not, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.
Matthew 10:12-14
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The dust from your feet
On the road the disciples depended on hospitality. At every house they wished peace, the ordinary Jewish greeting. If it wasn't accepted, it came back to them. Whoever refused them altogether saw them leave with a well-known gesture: they shook the dust off their feet. Paul and Barnabas later really did this.
There is something freeing in it. The disciples were to bring, not to force. What others did with it was not on their shoulders. Your peace is not lost if nobody accepts it.
Question for today
Who am I still trying to win over, when perhaps I need to let go?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you left your disciples free to move on. Teach me to offer without forcing, and to let go without growing bitter. Amen.
My prayer
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