Devotion Mal Reading from the Common Daily Lectionary: Mark 3: 10b-35

Text: When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.”

If you take Jesus seriously sooner or later people are not going to understand you. This is because following Jesus is truly counter-cultural. 

It is counter-cultural because it cares for the least, the last and the lost while the world says that you have to take care of number 1. It knows that in this life you gain nothing if in the pursuit of success you lose your soul in the process. Serious followers of Jesus know that winning isn’t everything, let alone the only thing. It cares for the alien and dispossessed because it remembers that our spiritual forebearers were wandering refugees in a foreign land. Yes, taking Jesus seriously is counter-cultural and you will be misunderstood, just like Jesus.

But here’s the thing, taking Jesus seriously is the only thing that can put Joy, Hope, Peace and Love into your life. Taking Jesus seriously is the only way to find true contentment in all circumstances. It is the only way to take one more step when more more step seems impossible to take. 

Taking Jesus seriously has an eternal quality about it. 

Lord, give me the courage to take You seriously and to go wherever You lead. Let my life glorify You. Amen.