Monday - Getting to the Root
Day 23
I love a beautiful yard and have so much respect for people who work tirelessly to make their yards lovely. I especially appreciate the yard with gardens and beds that have at least one flowering plant year-round. I wish I was a gardener but I wasn’t made for it, as I’m terribly allergic to poison oak, ivy and sumac. I can't tell you how many times I’ve been working in the yard, planting or pulling weeds and 24 to 48 hours later notice a swath of red bumps along my skin. Yes, I wear gloves and long sleeves and I wash my hands thoroughly when finished. And I still regularly develop a rash that spreads all over my body. Once or twice, I accidentally wiped sweat from my face while working, only to have itchy red bumps consume my cheeks, nose and forehead! My parents used to say that I only had to look at poison ivy and I’d be covered in it!
Poison ivy rash is caused by an allergic reaction to an oily resin called urushiol (u-ROO-she-ol), present in the leaves, stems and roots of poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac. While you can learn to identify the leaves because these plants are vines, it is more difficult to trace the stems and virtually impossible to get to the roots and extract them without incident, at least for those of us who are sensitive to the oil. There are several plants whose leaves and vine presentation mimic poison ivy, like clematis, Trumpet creeper and Virginia creeper, but these plants don’t contain the poisonous oil originating from their root system.
In today’s reading from Mark, we pick up where we left off yesterday, peeking into the private tutoring session Jesus is holding with His disciples. The theme is, “Looks can be deceiving. Get to the root to know for sure.”
Read Mark 9:38-50
In His Name
John told Jesus that they had seen someone driving out demons in His Name but this guy wasn’t part of their club of Twelve, so they tried to stop him. Jesus encouraged John and the others not to stop anyone who can perform miracles in His Name since anyone who performed such works in His Name would not soon afterward speak evil of Him. Theirs is not an exclusive group; they are to focus on the work Jesus has given them to do, making sure that they are rooted in His Name and not their own desire for position, power or control, leaving the results up to God. Nor should they be quick to criticize others who also follow Christ but who do not belong to their group. This exclusivity and “othering” happens all too often in Christian communities. What may start out as a clearer understanding of grace and the Kingdom of God can slowly result in superiority, criticism and division among those pastors, denominations and families who don’t do or say things the way we do. Now don’t hear me saying that we should coddle those who look similar when compared to Jesus’ followers yet are spreading a false, poisonous gospel! May it never be! Jesus taught that If someone isn’t an enemy, he’s an ally. Anyone who gives you a cup of water in His name is on our side. Count on it, God will notice. Let’s remember that our allegiance is to Jesus, not our tribe.
On the Flip Side…
…Jesus continues helping the disciples understand that there are consequences to hurting others, presumably “in His Name.” He has just described how they are to come to the kingdom of God - as little children, curious, dependent, easily influenced. If any one causes one of these darlings, who are new to faith in Jesus, to stumble or fall away, “it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” (Mk. 9:42) Theirs was an agrarian society, surrounding the Sea of Galilee, so Jesus’ word picture was heard and understood. Millstones were used in a grain mill, to grind the harvested wheat into a powdery flour that could be made into bread. There were usually two stones, an upper and a lower stone. Each stone was 4 to 6 feet in diameter, 18 to 24 inches thick and they weighed as much as a ton. Jesus will later use a millstone word picture to accuse the religious leaders of putting heavy religious burdens on the people’s backs, but for now, He is warning anyone who tries to misdirect one of His little ones - the very burden you are trying to place on them will be tied around your own neck and you will be thrown into the sea, where you cannot survive the weight for long. Those who love and believe in Jesus are beloved and eternally protected by Him!
Hell is Real
Jesus employs some serious hyperbole next as He warns against the very real consequences of sin. Nothing, not even one’s body parts, are as important as obeying God and fleeing temptation. If your hand, foot or eye causes you to sin and fall away, it would be better for you to be without it than to go to hell intact. And hell is a very real place, Jesus continues to hammer, quoting from Isaiah 66, where the worms who live off dead carcasses do not die and no one pours water on the eternal fire.
Jesus makes a puzzling statement, “For everyone will be salted with fire.” (Mk. 9:49) Is Jesus referring to both the believer and nonbeliever? That regardless of one’s root system, the fire of hell is inevitable? There are several interpretations of Jesus’ statement, but most Bible scholars view the “salt" as representing purification by the “fire” of suffering and hardship, related to the costliness of discipleship. As Christ-followers, we must be willing to give up anything and also to suffer for Christ’s sake, for something costly and painful will come into everyone’s life. Yet the “salt” and the “fire” also make the sacrifice pleasing to God and have a purifying effect on the believer. And as salt does not destroy but preserves food, so the suffering will not destroy the believer. Therefore, salt is good, but unsalty salt is useless; fire is good, but unquenchable fire is overwhelming! It’s as if Jesus is saying, “Guys, you need one another to grow and change. Don’t avoid the salt or the uncomfortable fire. You aren’t each other’s competition or enemies, nor is anyone who is in Me or doing things in My Name.”
Big Picture Questions for Today:
Have you experienced Christian leaders who have placed heavy burdens on you, causing your faith to be stunted? Have you been guilty of stunting another’s spiritual development?
What is your opinion of hell? Is it a real place where we can’t begin to imagine the horrors? Or do you think of it nonchalantly?
If you are rooted in Christ, how has God used the “fire” of suffering and hardship and the preserving “salt” agent of humble dependence on Him and your fellow believers to purify you?
Pray that the Lord will root you ever more deeply in Himself.
Blessings,
Gay B Brown