Today I was really blessed by a book I was reading and that's a rare thing for me. Not because I rarely receive blessings haha, but because I, in all honesty, rarely read! Really. I realized that all around me, church leaders like to read alot but I don't. And sometimes I wonder whether it is normal for me not to like to read. I mean, I love to read adventure and thriller novels. Reading the Bible has always been a fight for me because for a monumental book that I have to base my life upon, I desire to read it less than say, a storybook. But I think this is where discipline comes in. Discipline is needed to get started and keep going in the long run. The Lord will make it relevant to you and when it seems like it doesn't, I will trust that I am reading that particular passage for a reason. It may not be because God wants me to take back some spiritual truth like "Love your neighbour as yourself" all the time. Sometimes, I genuinely feel that it is a much needed history lesson or maybe a time where questions that I have never thought before comes to mind to challenge my faith. And I was just thinking that just like a sword is wrought through constant hammering and re-working, so is faith. So I will continue thinking that the Bible is a book to never put down despite its difficulty to digest (especially since the time, culture and mindsets of the people who wrote is so different from ours' today) because it is one of the ways, and the fastest and easiest way at that, I can get to know about God. But anyway, I have digressed long enough, here is the passage that I hope encourages you as much as it has encouraged me!
A Glimpse of Glory
"How, then, can we have access to the presence of God in [a way that is akin to when the compassion and love of another person helps you deal with your suffering, when someone's unconditional approval and encouragement transforms your fear into resolve, when an encounter with beauty seems to neutralize your anxiety and give you hope]? How can we have these foretastes? Jesus and the disciples (James, Peter, John and Mark) are barely off the mountain (Mark 9) before he gets a chance to show us how to make our way into God's presence.
When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. "What are you arguing with them about?" he asked. A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.
(Mark 9:14-18)
A big argument was going on among the teachers of the law and a crowd of other people and Jesus's disciples - those who hadn't gone up the mountain. They're trying to exorcise a demon, and it's not working. Evil is present and everyone's confused.
Again, Mark takes the existence of demonic activity - of a continued battle against evil, personal supernatural beings - as a self-evident aspect of reality, a fact of life. Not everyone is personally possessed by a demon like the boy in this story, but Paul says in Ephesians 6 and elsewhere that we are all fighting demonic "principalities" all the time. Remember that even Jesus was not immune to their attacks. We read earlier on in the book of Mark that just after his baptism Jesus "was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan" (Mark 1:12)
The boy in this story is possessed by a demon, making him deaf and mute and causing convulsions. It is an overwhelming physical and spiritual condition that not only renders the boy helpless, but also stymies everyone around him - his father, the disciples, the teachers of the law. The story continues:
"O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me." So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?" "From childhood," he answered. "it has often thrown him into the fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." "'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." Immediately the boy;s father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again." The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently, and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead." But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up to his feet, and he stood up. After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?" He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer."
(Mark 9:19-29)
The disciples were trying to exorcise a demon. But they have been trying to exorcise it without prayer. How arrogant, how clueless they are about their inadequacy to deal with the evil and suffering of the world. The disciples tries prayerless exorcism for the same reason that they couldn't understand why Jesus had to die - they didn't see how weak and proud they were. They underestimated the power of evil in the world and in themselves.
The teachers of the law are there too, probably criticising. Only one figure in this whole scene is acknowledging his weakness, admitting that he does not have what it takes to handle the suffering and evil he faces - the father of the boy.
This man asks Jesus, "Would you heal my son?" and Jesus says, "Everything is possible for him who believes." That is, "I can do it if you believe." The father responds, " I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" - that is, "I'm trying but I'm full of doubts." Then Jesus heals the man's son. This is very good news. Through Jesus we don't need a perfect righteousness, just repentant helplessness, to access the presence of God.
Jesus could have told the man, "I am the glory of God in human form. Purify your hearts, confess all your sins, get rid of all your doubts and your double-mindedness. Once you have surrendered to me totally and can come before me with a pure heart, then you can ask for the healing you need." But Jesus doesn't say that - not at all. The boy's father says, "I'm not faithful, I am riddled with doubts, and I cannot muster the strength necessary to meet my moral and spiritual challenges. But help me. " That's saving faith - faith in Jesus instead of in oneself. Perfect righteousness is impossible for us, and if you wait for that, you will never come into the presence of God. You must admit that you are not righteous, and that you need help. When you can say that, you are approaching God to worship.
But we cannot leave this scene without an acute awareness of what Jesus is about to lose. He has lived for endless ages in glory with the Father. On the mountain, we see Jesus surrounded by God; on the cross he will be forsaken. On the mountain we see the life he has always led - embraced and clothed with the love and light of God - but on the cross he will be naked in the dark.
Why did Jesus put himself through that? He did it for us. Paul tells us clearly that evil is unmasked and defeated on our behalf at the cross. He writes in his letter to the church at Colossae that Jesus "disarmed the power and authorities...triumphing over them by the cross" (Colossians 2:15).
And on the mountain, through the Spirit, God was strengthening Jesus for his mission, for the infinite suffering he would endure to defeat all evil. And God can empower us in the same way to face evil and overcome our own suffering.
You may know in your head that God loves you - but sometimes the Spirit makes it especially to clear to you that that is the case. Sometimes through the Spirit you can hear God make a statement of unconditional, permanent, intimate love. Sometimes you don't just know about God's love but in your heart you actually hear God saying, "You're my daughter, you're my son, I love you. I wold go to infinite cost and infinite depths not to lose you - and I have."
When you have pursued God in repentant helplessness, you will have worshipped. And every time you sense his embrace, your soul will shine the slightest bit brighter with his reflected glory, and you will be the slightest bit more ready to face what life has in store for you."
Excerpt above from Timothy Keller's uplifting book, King's Cross.
It takes you through the Book of Mark and is clear and concise. Coming from the girl that doesn't read a lot of books, I would want this in my sparse collection.
