Today’s reading comes from Mark 4-6 follow the link provided here to read the ESV online.
Today I was struck by the parable of the seed growing (4:26-29). So many times we wonder at what God is up to in our life or the lives of people around us. We proclaim the gospel and it seems like no one is listening. We tell others of God’s love for us and our desperate need for Him but wonder if it is having any impact.
Then there is growth. In the quiet, in the stillness, after all the striving and all the needless fret on our part, the seed grows. In the silence, pushing against the darkness, reaching up to the light a plant is formed. Drawing strength from the earth, water and sunshine provided the plant continue to reach heavenward, spreading it’s leaves, embracing the sunlight and finally giving back fruit according to it’s purpose. Then comes the harvest.
Sometimes we are impatient to see the harvest. The one thing we often forget is that the harvest is determined by the planting. Are you planting to see the kingdom of God expanding in your life, in your community and around the globe. Plant much, harvest much.
I am also reminded that Jesus took naps (4:38). When I was younger, I didn’t think that naps could be spiritual, but the older I get there are several times I’ve realized that the most godly thing I could do was take a nap. Depending on what you have been through or are headed into, a nap can sometimes be helpful in focusing on the mission that God has us on. Naps indicate that we believe God is the one in control (Psalm 127:2). Don’t get it wrong, Jesus isn’t lazy, he’s often at the point of exhaustion in these chapters, the point is, in his humanity, he took naps when he needed them and we would be well served to to do the same.
Jesus casts a bunch of demons out of a guy and into a heard or swine. Rather than being amazed and worshiping God, the people plead with Jesus to leave (5:17). Jesus was bad for the economy. The regular Jewish folks wouldn’t have minded so much about the pigs because they were an unclean animal, but the folks in that region were probably selling them to the Romans to make a profit. So they wanted him to leave. Rather than leave those folks without a witness though, Jesus challenges this man to say and tell of what Jesus had done for him throughout the region (5:19).
It appears as though Jesus moves around a lot in the gospel of Mark. The distance between places isn’t as great as you would think, just a few miles in several instances. Sometimes a visual is helpful to put all the pieces together. Here is a diagram that shows the different places Jesus traveled in the sequence that Mark records things.
Here is how I am praying through this passage today:
FATHER, Thank you for giving us your word! I pray that many seeds of your gospel are planted today that will germinate in fertile hearts and grow. I thank you for what you do in our lives to produce growth, trust, and dependence on you! I pray that we will be witnesses in our own families and communities today as well as those around the world. Thank you for the grace to lead and shepherd others. I pray that you would multiply ministry today. IN JESUS NAME, AMEN.
What did you take away from today’s reading? What are your thoughts or questions? Feel free to comment below and enter the discussion.
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