09/10/2019
Do those around you understand your faith? Has Jesus called you to believe in Him, but your family thought that you were not thinking straight? Sometimes our faith is challenged most by those who are closest to us, but don’t feel alone in this... it happened to Jesus as well when he first began performing miracles, and drawing crowds.
“And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, "He is out of his mind."”
Mark 3:21 ESV
If we are not fortunate enough to belong to a family that already believes in God, and Jesus Christ then we will most likely be met with stiff resistance when we first come to faith in Christ. Our families love us, but they can’t understand a faith they haven’t experienced, or are yet to be called to. This was true for Jesus, and it is just as true today. As a matter of fact Jesus’s family wanted to forcibly seize Him because they thought He had lost His mind. They were afraid for Him.
“And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "by the prince of demons he casts out the demons."”
Mark 3:22 ESV
The scribes came from Jerusalem to examine this situation that was unfolding because quite a stir was taking place. Rumors were spreading that there was a man who was healing people, and casting out demons... how could this possibly be? Much like His family, they didn’t understand what was happening either, because of this they too were afraid, and assumed that Jesus must be under the control of Satan himself.
So even though the crowds that had gathered around Him, believed He was a man of God, we see fear and disbelief in His family and the religious authorities. Here was a man who was doing no harm, and fulfilling Biblical prophecy; a prophecy that the scribes and all believing Jews of the time had been waiting for, yet they doubted Him, and resisted Him. Our faith in Jesus today is often met by the same doubt... typically not as blatant as this, but on occasion it is. This is what prompted Jesus to make a statement regarding His family that perplexes many...
“And he answered them, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother."”
Mark 3:33-35 ESV
His family had come to where He was teaching, and wanted to see Him, but if we recall, they had also thought He was out of His mind... so Jesus looked at those who saw His teaching as true, and said that this was His new family. He wasn’t disowning His earthly family, but rather, He was aligning Himself spiritually with God by telling the crowd that God was first in His life, and by calling Him His Father, and those who believed in what He had been sent to do as His brothers and sisters, He was making a powerful point... God ruled His life.
Jesus was an agent of change in the world, and even small changes are typically met with resistance, but a change of this magnitude shakes the very foundation of man’s underpinnings, and the resistance was dramatic! Jesus was changing the Jewish norm, and in the eyes of the politicians, He was challenging the very authority of kings. With tongue in cheek some called Him the King of the Jews... a title that rattled both the priests, and kings alike. As a matter of fact it is the first question that Pilate asked Jesus as the Passion was unfolding...
“So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"”
John 18:33 ESV
When we take up our cross and follow Jesus our lives are transformed, and those sins we once indulged in routinely are cast off. This makes those who still do these things uncomfortable, and we hear the word “Christian” used in a derogatory fashion, and other terms applied to us such as “Holy Roller”, “Bible Thumper”, “Jesus Freak”, and so many others. These terms are used to demean us because our lives have changed, and our behavior is convicting those who haven’t met Jesus yet... but just like Jesus we should remain humble, and answer those slights with love, and prayer for the unbelievers.
“Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world."”
John 18:36 ESV
Our faith will certainly be met by resistance in this world. It will come from those we love, such as our family members, our friends, our acquaintances, and from the very seats of world power. This is to be expected, but as it occurs we should remain firm in our faith, and do those transformative things such as loving our neighbor, forgiving seven times seventy times, and loving our wife as Christ loves the Church. In this way we exude Christ’s goodness and mercy into the world, and secure our place in the presence of God.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Psalms 23:6 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for calling me to believe in you, and your Son Jesus Christ. Thank you for the transformation I am undergoing as I step further from the sinful nature of the fallen world, and into the righteousness that my strength of faith in you, and Jesus, bolsters. Help me Lord to maintain a love for those who demean me, and who approach me with with bitterness, and hate. Teach me Holy Father to remain humble in my faith, even in the face of great resistance. You commanded me to honor my mother and father, and those who have authority over me... strengthen my ability to do this Lord; even when I suffer as a result. Make me strong as I bear my cross, and lift me up when I fall in exhaustion. Let me fear no evil, and trust in you always. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who goes before me, and great is your Son Jesus Christ who abides in me. Praised be your name Father, for your mercy, and grace, are my greatest hope, even as they are your constant glory. I commit myself into your love forevermore, and worship you with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength. Grow my faith, and my trust in you as I humble myself before the world in obedient service to you.
“"Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.”
Luke 6:22-23 ESV
Rich Forbes