26 January 2011

26 January 2011

Psalm 119:49-72; Isa. 49:1-12; Gal. 2:11-21; Mark 6:13-29

It seems in verse 4 that the servant has a low estimate of his success in the role for which he was appointed and yet the Lord says, that is too small a role for you, I am making it much larger. Do we sometimes fail to see as the Lord does? We know that Jesus’ ministry didn’t seem to be successful from the vantage point of Golgotha but that wasn’t the time to measure it. The point is that we don’t know how or when to measure anything with respect to the kingdom of God. We don’t see the larger picture of ministry to know the true effect of it, our call is to be obedient. The church in which I was raised was, by the time I was in the youth department, going downhill fast, and is now closed, but from that youth group there are three pastors now serving in various denominations, the work of that church hasn’t finished, it continues in our work of preaching the Gospel in other places. Jesus didn’t look successful as He hung on the cross but the work of reaching the world was carried out in the apostolic ministry. Let us not come to worldly based conclusions, let us be found faithful.

Was John the Baptist successful? He baptized many and faithfully preached the word given to him but in the end what was the measure of his ministry? Did it end with him? We know he had disciples but we don’t have any idea whether they continued his ministry after his beheading, accepted Jesus as John pointed to him, or simply walked away disillusioned by the experience. Over 2000 years later we celebrate John in ways that he certainly could not have imagined as he was coming to grips with the end of his life’s story. John was a man in whom the Lord was certainly well pleased as he ran his race in faith and in obedience to the revelation that had been given to him. That is real success.

Paul understands his mission is to be a faithful steward of the Gospel. He finds that Peter was not always faithful but bent himself and therefore his message to please men. He tells of confronting Peter in this because he knows that hypocrisy in leaders is a serious danger to the church. We must remain steadfast in our proclamation. Paul was a man who was indeed steadfast in truth, unbending and unwavering, no matter the personal cost. He could truly say, “the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” We are called to a life of faith as well, keeping our eyes on the prize of eternal life, remembering that the life I now live is simply because of Jesus.

You have dealt well with your servant,
O LORD, according to your word.
Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
for I believe in your commandments.

The law of your mouth is better to me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.