This morning I preached a message from Mark 10.32-34. Through the course of my study and preparation two words stood out, amazed and afraid, two words not usually associated with discipleship. It struck me that as Jesus walked ahead of his disciples in typical rabbinic fashion, "they were amazed and those who followed were afraid." We may wonder what could be so amazing or fearful about following Jesus on the road. What is the big deal? The big deal is that Jesus, unlike us many times, was moving with purpose and intention. He was moving toward a specific place (Jerusalem) for a specific purpose (his passion), and he was leading the way. Knowing all that would transpire--"the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles, and they will mock him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him"--he never hesitated or wavered in his commitment to do the work the Father had sent him to do.
I am concerned that many in the church have either lost or never had a sense of amazement and fear in their relationship with God. Why is this? I think it is partly due to our dilution of Christ's call to discipleship. We have taken the Lord's call, "Follow me," and inserted all kinds of clauses, excuses, and reasons for not following him; yet, his call remains clear. Following Jesus is more than attending a service, saying a prayer, reading a book, giving an offering; it is a total surrender of all that we have, all that we are, all that we hope to be. It is a surrender of everything to walk in his steps, to be "covered in the dust of our rabbi."
My prayer is that God would restore to his people a sense of amazement and awe as we renew our commitment to follow Jesus.
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2 comments:
We have to be purposeful in our desire to fellowship and walk with Christ just as He was purposeful in His dedication to the Father. Unfortunately our adversary knows how to keep us distracted with everyday life that causes us to lose focus. Even spending time in the word becomes routine and a task rather than a desire to learn about God. Fear and reverence have been replaced by warm and fuzzy........ GL
It is an honor to share the journey as we grow in our amazement and fear (reverence) of the Almighty together. Thanks for leading the way by example.
Looking forward to catching up with our favorite family this week and to finally meeting Emma.
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