Mark 1:1-8; John

John sounds like an odd character. I doubt he would have been hired by most churches today. He dressed and ate in an odd manner; surely he stood out among his peers. His ministry is described as one calling out in the desert. It sounds lonely and very unproductive. He did not cry out in the marketplace or busy intersections but rather in the desert. Yet his ministry was used by God and people somehow heard him. His efforts were all directed at preparing people for Jesus. One message was all he had.

And so starts the good news about Jesus. It begins with an odd man, repeating the same message over and over in the desert. Yet somehow, God used him to prepare a society for what was to come.

It makes me ask myself about my life and ministry? Am I comfortable being counter-cultural? Am I content if I am not used in the busy places of life but am placed by God in more desert settings? Am I satisfied with spending my life pointing people to Jesus rather than to self? Am I able to accept John as normative for those who seek God? Could I have accepted the call that God gave to John? Or am I just another cultural Christian who wants what every UnChristian wants, i.e., human acceptance rather than God acceptance?

Luke 17:1-10; Rebuke, Forgive, Stay Humble

There is so much content in these few verses. In a society that tends towards tolerance and pursues pluralism, rebuking someone for an error is unheard of. Yet, it is a command. Just as much as loving a neighbor is a command, just as much as loving God is a command, so also is rebuking a brother a command. It is not cultural but it is Christian.

The next line is the command to forgive someone when they err. Rebuking and forgiveness go hand in hand. Rebuking is not done from a position of power but from a position of love, seeking the best for the other who is in error. Forgiveness flows from the same heart.

When it is all said and done, to have corrected another or forgiven them one hundred times means absolutely nothing about my spirituality. I means I am doing what God expects of me. It means I am being like him. It means I should not be held up, glorified or proud of myself. I am simply being what I was created to be.

Rebuke, forgive, stay humble. Three commands to live counter-culturally.