This morning I read Mark 6. I'm reading my way through the gospels, going chapter by chapter to really gleen as much as I can, without having the time to actually sit down and do word study's, comparisons between translations, and translating from the original Greek.
Anyway, as I was readying Mark I started thinking about how extravagant and out of place and just plain WEIRD were all the miracles and such taking place. Thousands of people followed Jesus around, from city to city, and all throughout the countryside. He would enter a city and the entire thing would have to shut down because no one was going to work, everyone was gathering in the city square and bringing their sick and laying them on the ground. The image I get is of a makeshift Red Cross center after a huge disaster. With cots and sleeping mats littering the streets, but then it was filled with people who just came to hear Jesus so there were people filling up every gap where there wasn't a sick person laying down. I can just see Jesus walking down the rows of cots, winding his way through the people to each one so that he can have a few moments with them. Because you know he didn't just walk from person to person, touching them to heal them, and then moving on. He stopped and talked to each one.
Life stopped when Jesus entered a city. For some, the fact that he was within 100 miles meant that life stopped. People that depended on their own labor to make food and to survive dropped everything so they could hear him speak, so they could touch him for themselves, so they could be changed. Because what Jesus was doing in people's lives, whether physical or spiritual, was too gigantic to ignore. It was too real to believe was fake. It was too present to disbelieve.
Jesus sent his disciples out, with the same power he had to heal and to cast out demons. And they journeyed out, proclaiming salvation and healing and casting out demons. Now these disciples did not have the same effect that Jesus did. No one ever could. But their actions were the same. It was a time for God to become real. The people had lived for 400 years, living their natural lives without the supernatural being visible. And now that Jesus had come back, it was inevitable that the supernatural would suddenly be everywhere one turned. Whether it was Jesus, or one of his disciples, God was working. The Holy Spirit was present.
This time of bringing the supernatural to bear on the natural did not end when Jesus went back to heaven. In fact, that's when it REALLY started to get crazy. Jesus even told his disciples that they would be able to do greater things than he had done while he was on earth. Jesus had a singular purpose and had to follow the path that took him on to complete it. But the disciples would not have that same purpose. Their only goal was to "go into all the world" preaching and healing and witnessing as they went.
When Jesus left, he imparted the Holy Spirit to his disciples and the followers that would join the ranks, so to speak. The Holy Spirit is prevalent throughout the bible. But after Jesus left, the Holy Spirit began to inhabit believers, instead of being a force outside of themselves that would appear now and then. Read Acts. Crazy stuff happened in the first years of the church. Paul experienced crazy things. Paul did crazy things. It's awesome.
So here's my question. Why are we Christians so convinced that there is no more supernatural work? Why are we so certain that God does not utilize the powers and avenues that He set up before He even created us anymore? Why do we think that God only works through measurable, believable, safe ways?
Why can't God heal? Why can't God cast out demons? Why can't people be demon-possessed? Why not?
It's like we live our lives, believing that the grind is all there is. That our measly little lives are all that are real and everything else is just crazy talk. Those that believe in such things are just deceived, poor little souls. We're walking down the path of life with our eyes firmly down to the ground, only seeing the dirt underneath us. Others that have looked up start proclaiming about the beautiful scenery and we say "I don't see any scenery. This dirt underneath us is all that is real." Others start picking flowers and fruits and try to show us physical evidence and we say "That is the product of this dust underneath us. You just formed it and colored it. There haven't been any flowers or fruit for thousands of years." And the others are getting exasperated because of COURSE there have been flowers and fruits the past thousand years. We just have kept our noses to the ground and refused to see it.
Wake up people! The supernatural is real and present and active in your life, whether you open your eyes or not! The Holy Spirit is moving, people are being healed, miracles are happening! God is taking a stand and making it impossible to deny Him. Demons are real and they are all around you. They are at your work, they are at your home, and for some of you, they are in your heart and your mind. Stop being so consumed in your daily life that you scorn the special things that are happening to others.
The first church spoke in tongues, why aren't we? The first church healed people, why aren't we? The first church operated in the spiritual gifts, why aren't we? The first church lived in community with each other, why aren't we? The first church sold everything they had and counted on God to provide for them, why can't we? Where is the radical-ness that the first church had? They understood the need! They believed that Christ was coming back in their lifetime and they had to be ready...guess what! Christ is coming back in our lifetime! People get ready, Jesus is coming, soon we are going home!
The fields are white with harvest and we're too busy with our political platforms, with our work, with our marriages, with our families, with our schooling, with WHATEVER! Drop what you are doing and run out to reap the harvest! Because it's what God has called you to! and the rains are coming soon! Whatever is not harvested by that time will perish and be lost forever.
Get ready. Wake up. Wipe the sleep from your eyes. Get off your butt. Let's get out there.
No comments:
Post a Comment