The Change Jesus Brings
When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” Mark 3:21
Jesus knew from the beginning that he would be rejected by those he came to save. Yet he never swerved from the path his Father had set before him That did not mean it was easy for him. Because he was a normal human being, rejection must have been as painful for him as it is for you and me.
His rejection by his own hometown and by his own family must have been particularly painful. He had lived a model life of holiness and service right in their midst, yet they would not believe. He did not fit their image of what the Messiah was to be, so they spurned him.
Those who rejected Jesus hungered for more signs and wonders rather than for a life of self-sacrificing love. They wanted a show, not humility; a carnal display, not holiness. They wanted him to outdo the Romans at the Roman game, but Jesus had come to play another game. They wanted him to change their circumstances, not to change them.
Jesus had come to change them so he could change the circumstances of other people. They had things backwards.
Does God perform acceptably for you? Does he act the way you think he ought to act? If he doesn’t, do you think it is because he is out of line, or because your perspective is askew? Most of us want him to change our circumstances and other people’s character, not our character and others’ circumstances.
But the only way he can change other people’s circumstances through us is to change us. And that is a different process. It meant a Cross for Jesus, and if we want to follow him, it will mean one for us as well.
—Dennis Kinslaw
This Day with the Master
The change Jesus brings starts with us. This is a wonderful mystery—He molds us into vessels of His love extended to others. When we pray, we often ask Him to address things that are outside of us; to bring change to circumstances. He, in turn, begins to move our hearts on that very matter, burdening us to become a difference maker in that very set of circumstances. As you pray for the hungry to be fed and the naked to be clothed for instance, He doesn’t simply deliver food and clothing on cue, but rather He moves your heart in compassion to become more caring and generous. And even when we pray for ourselves, He answers our prayers in the context of the world around us. Pray for patience, for instance. He doesn’t just bestow peaceful easy feelings on you; rather, He provides opportunities for you to exercise patience; He grows you in and through circumstances around you. Jesus is about salvation—saving us, which means also loving us and molding us into the children of God He’s called us to be. —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics