Thursday, March 3, 2011

Faith = Amazement and Fear

Scripture Verse that caught my attention today: Mark 10:32 They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him,

Observation: There were mixed emotions among those who followed Jesus, ranging from amazement to fear.

Application: I think those of us who claim to follow Jesus would do well to have a variety of emotions as well. More often, it seems, we more or less think of Jesus as the God in our pocket—someone who always wants the best for us and yet never really challenges us to take some risks in regard to demonstrating extravagant love or to even think on various matters in a way completely different from what we may have been taught. It seems to me that an authentic follower of Jesus would be both amazed and afraid—that combination of the “awe” factor and also the “oh my…what will this mean for me.” I’ve never parachuted before, but I’m imagining the awe of the initial jump and then also confronting the reality that whether one lives or dies is almost completely dependent on whether or not the parachute actually opens and functions properly. Fear and amazement are not-so-distant cousins.

Prayer: Lord, help me to hold both the amazement and fear of following you is tension. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Scripture Readings included: Numbers 31-32 and Mark 10)

No comments:

Post a Comment