Sara Shackelford's Blog
....Same song, different verse... / 11.03.09, 10:13 PM
Mark 9 – A man brings his son to Jesus. His son is possessed by a demon. And “Jesus asked his father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’ And he (the father) said, ‘From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘If you can! All things are possible for one who believes.’ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’”
As a team, we do devotions every morning and take turns leading them. Earlier this week, Jordan chose this passage for us to think about. It’s been something I haven’t been able to escape. Is that not all of us – “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” ? I find myself in that place all the time. I DO believe, so why do I so often choose to listen to voices that would tell me I’m throwing my life away for something I don’t really care about, for things/people that are never going to change? It reminds me of a sermon I heard from Bryan Lorritz at home at Fellowship. He was preaching that our sins, our doubts, our hesitations, have been nailed to the cross with Jesus. However, he also made the point that crucifixion is by no means an immediate death…it’s certain death, but it takes a long time. The point was and is that everything broken in us has been put to death by what Jesus did on the cross, but in this life, it’s only in the process of dying, as he put it “the old man still wiggles sometimes.” I’m beginning to see my life as a process of asking God to teach me how to not listen to the voices, how to cling to what I know to be true, how to follow blindly when I can’t always find my belief, how to keep my eyes and heart open to what He’s trying to show me. It’s been liberating to think of it that way – to recognize that the ultimate battle for my heart is over and done with, to recognize that in this life I’m always going to struggle -that I’m a Christian because I struggle with my sin, not because I’m perfect.
I also like the simplicity of his prayer. I’ve always seen my faith as a complicated mess of theology – I liked that because I enjoy debating and arguing points. But I’m seeing that in many ways it has been my biggest stumbling block. I concern myself with making sure everybody believes correctly (i.e. how I believe) rather than making my first goal to love people the way Jesus has loved me. I suppose for most of my life I haven’t really believed that that would really change anyone, but being here, I can’t help but see that I’ve had things entirely backwards.
Micah 6:8
He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
James 1:27
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Peace
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It’s great to see the wonders you’ve accomplished. Keep up the great work. You’re an inspiration. God Bless, George.
By Aaron George / Nov 13, 03:39 PM / #