Stay a While — How Relationships Become Kingdom Pathways (Part 3 of 5)
An Invitation Into Luke 10 Living: Stay A While
Slow Down — God Is Working in the People Right in Front of You
Life moves fast, doesn’t it? And somehow, the start of a new year makes that even more obvious. Many of us entered the year feeling a little dazed — surprised that the calendar had already turned, still carrying last year’s pressures, and trying to catch our breath while everything around us speeds up again. In all the motion, it becomes so easy to overlook the quiet, sacred moments God is placing right in front of us. Moments with people who are hungry for peace, longing to be seen, or silently hoping someone will slow down long enough to care.
Yet this is exactly where the Kingdom loves to break in!
Luke 10 invites us into a countercultural way of living — a rhythm that does not hurry past people but honors them. A rhythm where ministry is not an event but a lifestyle. Where conversations become sacred spaces, and presence becomes a gift that reflects the heart of Jesus.
As we walk through this series on Luke-10-Living, Step 2 calls us into something beautifully simple and deeply transformative: “Stay in that house.” In other words, slow down. Be present. Linger long enough for love to take root. Because sometimes the greatest ministry is not found in what we say… but in HOW we stay.
If Step 1 — Bless — is about opening spiritual doors through peace, then Step 2 is about walking through those doors slowly, intentionally, and with genuine love. It is about building relationships, not rushing ministry. It is about staying present long enough for trust to grow.
When Jesus sends out the seventy-two, He says something that often gets overlooked:
“Stay in that house…” — Luke 10:7
Meaning, don’t rush on. Don’t collect quick encounters like spiritual checkmarks. Don’t jump from person to person the moment things feel slow or messy.
Stay. Invest. Be present. Build relationships.
Love That Lingers Changes Lives
In a culture obsessed with speed, Jesus models something radically different: slow love. Love that lingers long enough for people to feel seen. Love that listens more than it lectures. Love that offers presence, not pressure.
Jesus never treated people like projects. He treated them like image-bearers. Consider these few examples:
Think of Zacchaeus. Jesus didn’t just call him out of a tree — He said, “I must stay at your house today.” (Luke 19:5).
Think of the woman at the well. Jesus stayed in conversation with her — through her questions, her deflections, her discomfort — until her heart opened (John 4:7–30).
Think of Levi (also known as Matthew), the tax collector. Jesus didn’t just forgive him; He shared a meal with him and his friends (Luke 5:29–32).
Friend, Jesus changed lives not only through miracles and teachings, but through tables, conversations, meals, and shared time.
You’ll hear us say this a lot: “The Kingdom moves at the speed of relationships.”
Why Relationships Still Matter More Than Ever
If blessing opens a person’s heart, relationship opens their life. Trust is built through small, consistent interactions, those we pursue with intention — the kind of everyday moments most of us underestimate.
A kind conversation in the hallway. Checking on a coworker who looked discouraged. Following up with someone you prayed for. Sitting with a neighbor on the porch. Sharing a meal without rushing … These moments matter more than we realize!
Studies repeatedly show that most people come to Christ not through arguments or events but through a series of relational interactions with Christ Followers who loved them well.
Remember this: You don’t need to be a pastor to lead someone to Jesus. You don’t need to be trained in apologetics to influence a life. You don’t need a platform. You just need to show up consistently with the love of Christ - and yes! this applies in building relationships, and deepening existing ones!
You might be familiar with this quote by Maya Angelou: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” In the context we’re journeying through: People will rarely remember sermons you shared with them via social media, or even those they heard themselves at church. But rest assured that they never forget how you made them feel. This is especially enhanced when you show them the love and care of Jesus!
The Beauty of Seeing People Through God’s Eyes
Following the instructions of Jesus in this second step of the “Luke-10-Living” requires a different kind of seeing. We are invited into spiritual attentiveness — a willingness to slow down and notice the people God is highlighting.
Proverbs 20:5 says, “The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.”
Consider this: It is so easy to see what’s wrong at the surface of someone’s life. Everyone can see the brokenness, right? Yet, there is always more going on beneath the surface of a person’s life. And sometimes our greatest ministry is simply pausing and noticing what God shows us. When we begin to see people not as strangers, but as stories… not as obstacles, but as opportunities…. not as burdens, but as beloved… everything changes!
We get to partner with the Holy Spirit with the Father’s heart and we can help extract what God deposited but has likely been covered up by worries, hurt, or even comfort.
The Holy Spirit will often nudge us toward certain individuals — people whose hearts are quietly open, who respond warmly to kindness, who value your presence. In Luke 10, Jesus calls these individuals “persons of peace.” They may not believe yet, but their hearts are responsive. Their soul leans in your direction. You don’t have to search for them; God will reveal them.
Your role? Be willing to stay long enough to be part of their unfolding story.
Presence Over Persuasion
One of the key aspects of our ministry at Preserved International is the practice of “Presence”. We find that most people struggle internally and relationally because of how hard it has become to slow down and intentionally be present - especially with people we do not have a strong relationship with.
Please consider the magnificent power of presence. When we practice it, we are able to build strong bridges with people that hold the weight of truth and love. And here’s the one of the most freeing truths about this pursuit of Luke-10-living: Your job is not to convince people — your job is to reflect Jesus.
The Holy Spirit does the convincing (John 16:8).
Jesus does the saving (Acts 4:12).
The Father does the drawing (John 6:44).
As you pursue intentional presence with others, you help build relationship. Relationship creates safety. Safety creates openness. Openness creates spiritual hunger. This is an exciting part of collaboration with the Holy Spirit in reaching those God has placed in your circle of influence, starting with your spouse, kids, family, church, work place, neighbors, etc.!
Friend, this is how hearts soften. This is how questions rise. This is how people begin to wonder: “Why are they different? Why do I feel peace around them? Why do I trust them?”
Well, the answer is actually quite simple: You become a living preview of the Kingdom of God on earth… now!
Learning to Slow Down in a Fast World
Think our Lord Jesus and the way he approached relationships - we read this clearly throughout the Gospel.
He did not hurry - He noticed.
He lingered.
He asked questions.
He entered people’s stories gently.
What about you? Here are simple, everyday ways you can do the same (with those close to you or even those who are not):
When meeting someone, make an effort to make eye contact and remember their name
Ask follow-up questions about something they shared
Sit with someone instead of rushing off
Text or call someone God brings to mind. Here’s a tip: Don’t leave them on “read” for days or “ghost” them!
Invite someone to share a meal
Listen without planning your reply
Ask, “How are you really doing?”
Be consistent even when nothing dramatic is happening, but especially do so if there is!
These are not small things. These are Kingdom seeds.
Galatians 6:9 encourages us: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Friend, your consistency is forming soil around someone’s heart.
Relationships Lead to Revelation
When you stay, people begin to open up. They share their worries, their pains, their questions, their hopes. You earn the right to speak into their life. This is where the Kingdom begins to break through.
Jesus says in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Notice — they don’t glorify God because of your words alone, but because of your life. Your kindness. Your peace. Your presence. Your patience. Your empathy.
Key: Blessing leads to relationship. Relationship leads to openness. Openness prepares for healing. Healing creates hunger for Jesus.
A Prayer as We Practice Intentional Relationship Building
Lord, teach us to linger like You did. Help us slow down enough to truly see the people around us. Give us eyes for the lonely, the overlooked, the hurting, and the hungry. Highlight the persons of peace You are placing in our path. Make us faithful, gentle, consistent friends who walk with people at Your pace, not ours. Build relationships through us that become pathways to Your heart. Amen.
Grace and Peace,
Paola