I was having a conversation at lunch yesterday with a dear
brother and as we talked about the Lord and what He was calling us too. As we
talked, we started talking about the Word of God and just how truly
uncomfortable it is. I was hit by how it truly makes does me feel
uncomfortable. My mind started racing and the following question came to my
mind, “Am I reading the same bible as those around me?”
Think about the following question for a second: When was
the last time the bible made you feel uncomfortable? Has it ever made you
uncomfortable? Are you confused at what I’m even getting after right now. Let
me pose the question in another way.
When was the last time you did something so radical, so
against what this world says is normal that someone pushed back on you? When
was the last time you did something that had other people thinking, is he
crazy? Is he okay? Because not only does the bible often demand its followers
to do things that will have people around us saying, “what’s wrong with that
dude?” The way Jesus lived, died and rose again in your place is reason enough
to take God at His Word and do what it says. Jesus is worth it.
Do you live your life in that way? I’ve been studying the
book of Mark recently and two things have stuck out to me:
1) Jesus is AMAZING and worth every ounce of my life.
2) I say I love Jesus and want to honor Him, but often the reality
is the way I’m living isn’t following in his footsteps or obeying what He has
called us to as his disciples.
I think we can so often overanalyze every little detail of
Christianity. We have so many great thinkers of the faith; we have so many
resources at the tips of our fingers that it makes it so easy to quickly stray
away from the simplicity of the gospel and the great commission of our Savior.
Take a look at Mark 5 and the story of Jesus encountering a
man filled with many demons. There’s no precise number, but the demon speaks to
Jesus in the story and says, “My name is legion, for we are many.” These demons
had complete control over this man. This man lived amongst the tombs because he
was constantly cutting himself and when they tried to bind him, he would not
only break the chains apart, “he broke the shackles in pieces.” He was a danger
to society, he was a danger to those around him and because of this he lived
out amongst dead people.
Now when Jesus came and cast the demons out of this man, the
man’s response was one you and I probably would have. “He (the man) begged him
(Jesus) that he might be with him.” Think back to the moment you repented of
your sins and put your faith into Jesus. Wasn’t that a glorious time? You were
made alive and given new life. I’ve seen a countless number of people give
their lives to the Lord in the last couple years and each time there is a fire
in them for the Lord that is beautiful. They just want to be with Jesus. Now
when the man asks Jesus to go with him, Jesus doesn’t allow it. Instead, Jesus
charged the man saying, “’Go home to your friends and tell them how much the
Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you.’ And he went away and
began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and
everyone marveled.”
Did this man have any formal training? Did this man sit
around making sure every part of him was ready before he obeyed what Jesus
commanded him? No, he obeyed and did exactly what Jesus told him to do. This
man had been saved from his biggest problem, and even though he didn’t get what
he wanted, he knew whatever Jesus told him to do was worth it! Why? Because
Jesus had given this man new life and this now demon-free man was willing to do
anything for Him.
Would this be considered a bit weird today in our society?
Would this be considered the “wise” thing to do?
Do you think you have to have everything in your life
perfect in order to do something meaningful for the Lord? Well let me just be
honest with you, you are going to be waiting 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 more years.
You’re going to be waiting until you are in the grave. Because you, brother or
sister will never have everything perfect in your life; that is reality, that
is truth, that is fact.
Is the Christian life wise at all? Think about what our God
commands of all his followers in Luke 14:27, “If anyone comes to me and does
not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and
sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”
Does this verse make you feel nice and comfortable? This
makes me horribly uncomfortable. I love my father and mother, I love my 4
brothers, I love my life. But Jesus says, I’ve got to hate them in order to be
their disciple? Now, Jesus point isn’t literal hate.
His point is, “Has your family become an idol and more of a
priority before me?”
Or it could, ‘Are you pursuing that job promotion more than you
are pursuing me?”
Jesus left everything in heaven to live amongst us. Are you
willing to leave everything you know in order to live amongst a people that
have never heard of Jesus?
Another question to think about would be: Are you willing to
drop all of your pursuits, dreams and life goals in order to take Jesus into a
hostile place where you are not only not going to have DirecTV, but there’s a
good chance you are going to die?
I believe The GREAT (not mediocre, not “maybe I’ll do this
if I have time,” not “I’ll consider it.”) Commission from Jesus today is often made
into a ministry at our churches. NO, it isn’t a ministry! It has to be at the
core of the body of Christ! This has to be at the core of every disciple of
Jesus. It’s how Jesus lived his life, and it’s what he has called us to.
Matthew 28:18-20, “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded
you. And behold, I am with you
always to the end of the age.”
Jesus, who has all authority, lived as human, died as a
human on the cross and was rose from the dead deserves all the glory from all the
peoples of this world.
Yet we disobey him so often, he commands us to “go therefore
and make disciples of ALL nations.” But instead we decide to “stay henceforth
and make disciples of my kids.”
We are neglecting the reality of the Kingdom of our Lord. Yes,
God deserves the glory of your kids, yes you are called to “train them up in
the ways of the Lord.” But that’s not the core of a disciple of Jesus. So when
you or I decide to not “go therefore and make disciples of all nations,” we are
deciding that we know better than the creator, sustainer and savior of the
Universe.
Yes it can cause us to be uncomfortable to obey this. But
the bible isn’t there to bring you comfort. It’s there to a) bring you
forgiveness of your sins! And b) to kick your butt into action by telling you
how to live as a disciple of Jesus!
Don’t believe the lie of this world that everything has to
be in perfect order for you to follow Jesus to the ends of the world. Be like
the man who was set free from the demon. You’ve been set free from something
far greater than a demon, you’ve been set free from your sins! But just like
the demon free man, step outside your comfort zone, and start obeying Jesus
when he commands us to take the gospel to the ends of the world!
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