Mark 11:27-33
Find a way to separate yourself from whatever’s going on around you so you can fully enter into today’s passage. if you haven’t read the introduction to Mark’s Gospel, read it here.
Read Mark 11:27-33 imagining the inner thought process of the teachers of religious law.
It is a human tendency to develop models of thought that become the grid through which we make sense of incoming information. These models, or paradigms, are useful because they help us navigate the world. But what happens when one of our thought models is faulty?
In this passage, the teachers of religious law are operating out of a thought model based on their traditional view of religion, and even when faced with a question that could lead them to truth, they hold to their model. The very thing that was meant to lead them to God, their religion, has become their god, and they are stubbornly loyal to this god of their own making.
As you read Mark 11:27-33 again, allow the Holy Spirit to search your own mind and heart to see if there are any faulty paradigms that might be keeping you from knowing Jesus for who he really is.
In your journey through Mark’s Gospel so far, have you come across any words of Jesus that have been hard to hear?
What have you done when confronted with a difficult “word” from Jesus?
Everyone has a few (or more) faulty paradigms. If you became aware that a certain model of thinking was keeping you from experiencing life the way God intended, would you be quick to surrender your dearly held paradigm to Jesus?
As you end this time of reflection, take a few minutes to talk all of this over with Jesus. Be honest. If you struggle with the idea of laying down some of your long-held ways of thinking, start there and ask Jesus to begin to make you willing.
You might want to focus on the character of Jesus for a moment or two to help you remember that he is good and wants good for you. If you sense that Jesus is calling you to a certain action, write it down and make a plan for following through.
Are you finding these meditations to be helpful? If so, please forward them to a couple of friends. Interested in going deeper? Check out The Everyday Jesus Follower’s Guide and blog.
