What was brown is now green! Each of the seasons You have given us, Father, is unique and rewarding. I am grateful that I live in a part of the world where they are all very distinct. Thank You for the gifts of Your creative imagination that only an omnipotent Creator could give!
Mark 9:43-49 (<<click to read the passage)
Reading through this passage and the notes that accompany it in my Life Application Study Bible, made me think, of all things, about my mom!
Many years ago, before she met my dad, in the late 1950s, my mom was in a relationship with a nice young man. Now one thing you have to understand about my mom is the fact that she – especially compared to today’s standards was raised in an ultra-conservative environment.
(Here’s a little side story for an example: When my dad did propose, he had a difficult time getting alone to do so because she didn’t want to be seen as doing anything improper – she was a very prim and proper young lady and was very devout in her relationship with the Lord. She wanted absolutely nothing to taint that bond with her Savior. She hasn’t changed a bit!)
All that to say that the young man with whom she was involved was most assuredly above reproach. But…for whatever reason my grandmother – and if anyone on earth could be considered a saint it was her – felt very strongly that the relationship should be terminated. She was so adamant about it that she stopped eating until my mom severed the relationship!
Now it was a different time with different mindsets but my mom acquiesced and did just that – she broke up with the young man.
Now, what is the connection to this passage of Scripture? I think it goes without saying that for my mom, severing this relationship probably felt like severing a hand or foot.
Our relationships with Christ are of the utmost importance! It is easy for us to make excuses and rationalize many things in our lives that we would be better off without. And many times, they are not necessarily bad things, they are just less important things. Or maybe a better way of thinking about it is we cling to the good when God is ready to direct us into the best.
In my teen years, I struggled with the depth of my relationship with the Lord. I could see Him at work in my life and was quite often amazed at the things He accomplished through me. But my struggle lay in the fact that I far too often made excuses and rationalized those things in my life that I would have been better off without. I too often settled for good and missed the best.
Lord Jesus, help us to not cling so tightly to things that quite often are here today and fall through our fingers the next. May we follow Your lead for we will never be led astray. Amen.
May 28th, 2019, 7:22 pm
