Circuit Thoughts

Mark 6 is a pretty dark chapter in the ministry of Jesus. John is in prison. (Keep in mind John is the cousin of Jesus. He also baptized the Christ). John is in prison for upsetting the wife of Herod. Well, it was a little more than that. You see, Herodias was married to Philip, the brother of Herod. But Herod liked Herodias and Herodias was tired of Philip, so she left Philip and married Herod. Herod claims he is Jewish, but marrying your brother’s wife was against Jewish laws. John called them out on this. Herodias gets angry, and John goes to jail. With me so far?

Fast forward a few weeks, and we have the daughter of Herodias dancing for Herod. Evidently the dance must have been quite something because Herod made a promise. The girl asked for John’s head on a platter, and Herod obliged. Thus, John is killed to fulfill a promise made by a drunk. Not a very fulfilling story.

But it is a story that we need to be aware of. The reason is because following Christ comes with a cost, and sometimes it is an ultimate cost. John was in prison for speaking the truth and holding a fellow Jew accountable. Truth is not often welcomed, and in this case truth was fatal.

Later, Jesus would be arrested because of the truth, and then raised on a cross. Do you see a pattern here? Total self-sacrifice is what is required in following God. When we follow Christ, there is a cost, sometimes the cost is minor, sometimes dear, but there is a cost. If a minister tells you that following Christ is easy and without loss, find a new minister.

Jesus does make the load lighter, but we still follow Him all the way to the cross, you cannot get around that. It is the way of things. If we truly proclaim love for God, then we must be willing to set everything aside, and yes that includes our very lives.

Now, at this moment in history, we in the USA will probably not be asked to lay down our physical lives for the Gospel, but it is happening all over the world. People are getting killed for loving their neighbor enough to share the Good News of Christ.

The question is, are we able to offer our lives for Christ? Can we set aside ourselves for the building of the Church? Or do we answer to a different master? The master of the world says we can have a leisurely life if we just stay away from being mean. The world tells us God wants us to be happy, not evangelical. “Don’t rock the boat and let people be” is what we hear.

The truth is many are dying already in their sin. John wanted Herod to be better than the world, Herodias wanted John to shut up. If we truly want what is best for our neighbor, then we need to open our mouths, and hearts and profess the Christ.

Just a thought.

Shalom my friends. See you in church.