From Fed to Deny

In the 8th Chapter of Mark Jesus leads his disciples on a sequence of events that begins with a miraculous feeding of four thousand people and ends with a teaching on denying oneself.  Here are the five events:

• Feeding of the Four Thousand
• Healing of a Blind Man
• A Question:  Who do you say that I am?
• Teaching on Jesus' suffering
• Teaching on Self-denial

The bridge that leads us from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity is a question and its answer not more feedings.  Jesus feeds and heals because he cares for our physical and spiritual needs.  But His feedings and healings were never meant to be the ultimate end.  They were meant to point us to His true and complete identity. The ultimate end is that we might become those who Jesus ministers with as well as to.   

Jesus' suffering and our self-denial only makes sense once we get the who-do-you-say-that-I-am right.  And we must answer that question in first not third person. It's great to have people in our life that we can point to as model followers of Jesus. But it's even greater when we can look in the mirror and see one as well.  The-who-do-you-say-I-am is more important than the who-do-they-say-I-am.

Here is the irony that is only discovered once one enters it.  With more Jesus and less us, we end up receiving, in greater abundance, a better version of the things we were originally chasing without Him.  It is a dimension of grace and blessing that far exceeds my ability to convey but is spoken of over and over by those persons of faithfulness who have gone before us.

So eat.  Receive healing.  But don't stop there.  Respond : You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  Remember His suffering and death and resurrection.  And then deny yourself, take up his cross and follow Him.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Jesus and for the gospel will save it. 

Move from fed to deny and minister with Jesus.

Ex nihilo,

R.J. Rhoden