Are You Prepared For The Cost In Following Jesus?

by Dale Harcombe | More from this Blogger

24 Jun 2007 09:09 PM

Anything worthwhile in life never comes without cost. It may not be a cost in monetary terms or an investment in time put into a work situation or relationship. Are you prepared for the cost in following Jesus? Lets' see what help we can find from Mark 3:20-35 about this.

1. Jesus was doing His Heavenly Father's will, yet his family decided He 'was out of his mind,' verse 21. His family tried to dissuade him. They could not understand His motivation. When we are in the middle of God's will, where He would have us, we may find there are those who will think us odd, who will call us a fanatic, who will try to dissuade us because they don't understand what motivates our actions. These dissuaders might even come from our own family. Or, suppose your child announced their desire to become a missionary, would you seek to dissuade them, so you could keep them close by? We can stop others from doing what God wants by our selfish attitudes.

2. When looked at logically, the reasoning of the teachers didn't even make sense. 'By the prince of demons he is casting out demons,' verse 22. How often do we hear the world come up with totally illogical arguments against Christians?

3. Jesus picked up on point they raised and using a parable, used it to show them how illogical their words were. He used their own words to teach and warn them, verses 23-29. How ready are we to teach and warn those who are wrong? People can sincerely believe something and still be wrong, no matter how sincere they are.

4. There has been much debate over the years about the sin which cannot be forgiven. Yet, here Jesus identifies exactly what this sin is - that of suggesting that Jesus' power and healings came from the evil one rather than directing showing that He came from God and that the Holy Spirit was at work here, verse 29.

5. Jesus was not deterred from being obedient to God, not even by those he loved, verse 31. Where is our obedience - to family or to God?

6. Jesus called those who did His will, His family, verse 35. Using this criteria, are you then one of His family? Do we treat other Christians like family? 7. Obedience to God costs. Jesus' family and teachers of the law misunderstood. Some even attributed his miracles to the opposition and tried to stop him from doing His Father's Will. But Jesus always knew where His allegiance lay. Do you? Is it obvious to others that your primary allegiance is to God and to doing His Will?

All bible references are from the New International Version

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Learn more about Dale Harcombe

Dale has a passion for books and writing. She writes in various forms, from articles to poetry to fiction for children and adults.

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