“Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry.”
Often, the sermon, person, or church that we least likely think to succeed becomes a champion and glorifies God. Paul had doubts about Mark before, but now he sees him useful. I rejoice that God turns light on in places where we saw darkness. He opens our eyes to His value in the weak things, and He takes things that we've looked upon as useless and makes them profitable to us. We read elsewhere, “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.. that no flesh should glory in His presence....that, as it is written, 'He who glories, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Cor 1:26-31). Do you believe in the God of miracles?
First, the Almighty doesn't check with us for permission to make men great. He doesn't say, “What do you think of Mark”, and make His judgments there. He sees beauty where we do not, and He takes the despised things and makes them sparkle.
You may think, “this poor preacher”, “this poor sermon”, or “this little church”, and yet God use these very despised people to save the elect and light a flame in the world. It doesn't take many obvious signs to make someone useful; it only needs God's blessing, which is God's proof that He is with the sermon, the person, the church. The despised of men are not despised by God. He has His own ways, and the least likely to succeed will become the chief of the apostles, even Paul, who said, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (1 Cor 15:10). Moses, the man with impeded speech and fear on his resume', will lead the nation. Women who have been barren, poor, and despised, even from the cursed race of Moab, are in the bloodline of Jesus (Matt 1:1-14).
Never judge God by your feeble sense. We can only see so far, and God can make us blush for our doubt and hardheartedness, blushing as He THRILLS us with His hand on someone's life.
Secondly, Mark is useful. He isn't like Demas who forsook Paul in love for this world (1 Tim 4:9). He is a man who FORSAKES the world in love for Paul and the Lord Jesus Christ. He is a man of character to be counted on.
Looking on the first half of my life (40 years) and my first 14 years in Christ, I have only one regret, and that is my sin - listening to people instead of God, and doing my will, rather than reverencing Him. But, just as God changed and brought fruit from John Mark, I have seen the Lord change and recover me. Instead of allowing me to stay where I was, a disappointment perhaps to many, He's given me and my church grace to improve. Our character and focus has improved. Our desire for His glory has been purged and proven in the trial of fire, and He's taken a man who “went back” from the ministry and changed him into a man to be trusted, a faithful man, seeking God's glory in Christ. And, He did this for a man who caused contention by his actions. We read, "Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another" (Acts 15:37-39).
Thirdly, God will make this change in you. Just as Paul saw Mark faithful, others who've looked you up and down, finding fault after fault, will sincerely say, “This man knows God”. Perhaps, they were not wrong about you in the past, but they can see the improvement God makes. This gives us hope for all. The wavering saint may become the strong man in the church. The cold pastor may inflame for Christ continually. The WEAK church, so careful of many things and missing Christ, may become SINGLE in her focus for God.
Don't shut the door on yourself. God's in the business of changing people. God saves by grace, and GRACE permeates a life. It is slow at times, but grace causes continual change, even though it is often imperceptible to the human eye... even as a tree must grown down before it grows up.
People say, “I've made a mess. I've ruined things. I haven't been what I should be”. Yes, indeed. Admit it in the hope of Christ. Take the gift of life God GRACIOUSLY gives and trust Christ for power over sin. It is still true, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9-10).
Hope in a God who changes men and be changed yourself, even as you hope for others.
Finally, let us not quit on people, but let us hope. I know many profess Christ and then don't know Him, but some fence sitters, yes many who look doubtful, will one day shine as the sun, even if we don't see it here.
That person you're doubtful about, pray for them in hope, fetching strength from Christ to hope continually.
Christians ought not be mean spirited or suspicious fault finders. Be rich in love.
No comments:
Post a Comment