Last week of Lectures ~ Mark

First of all AS IF it is the last week! I can't even wrap my mind around that it went so fast, but nevertheless it was amazing.

So yes we got to study the book of Mark on our last week and let me just tell you how it was laid out; the weekend we ended on was easter (including a passover meal - amazing), the youth camp we were speaking at the next week had planned on speaking on Mark, AND flipping the whole point of the gospels is about proclaiming Jesus the Son of God! So it was almost like we were being sent off on the note of following Jesus - our application this week wasn't just something to hand in but it was going to be the next step we were going to be taking.

Mark's Gospel really does give us so many examples on how to live a Godly life, even if we just simply life by the key verse-we are here to serve not to be served! Also by remembering how much Jesus put up with, we mostly just think about the cross (which is massive-yes) but also the faithless and persecution of just everyone around him, even his disciples. Jesus had to put up and go through a lot, more then I will ever realize or ever face in my life.

Who am I to sit here and say that I have bigger problems then Jesus, and because of that I am not able to live a Godly life or even try to life out the call God is giving me. I can't even try to use that as an excuse because as we able to see in this gospel, Jesus - the mighty sufferer, is showing us the way and leaving us tangible foot prints to follow to the way everlasting.

The beautiful thing about his teachings on the Kingdom of God is how little we actually have to do to make something happen. A willing heart and God will be able to change anything. Giving him that chance, is where and how even come into play, it is not by our works but it is what we give God to work with. It is time to step out with the authority that God has given me and the Righteousness that has come through Christ, and to GO proclaim the good news! It is now time to pick up my cross and follow Jesus, and I love that the impact on my life from that saying is more then I even understand.

Also the impact of his parables with The Kingdom of God - pretty much the best things of my life! God has made HIS Kingdom something that WE as humans are able to access - do we even understand the hugeness of that? I don't think we do because honestly even after the last three months I still hardly understand the greatness of that. But what I love about God is that he doesn't care that we can't understand it, he knows how little our brains and imaginations are - yet he still gives us things all the time that are so beyond us, we aren't even able to give him the right reaction. He will continue to give whether I give him enough back or not. That's almost way laying down my life is yes a "big deal" but not really when you look at everything he has done for me since the beginning of time (He is still the same God). To give God my life is a big deal to me because it is all I have to give in full, but when I look at how big God is and all that he has done all of a sudden my life doesn't seem big enough to give him for my thankfulness. The beautiful truth of God is that he doesn't look at the size or amount we give but he looks at what it means for us to give it and our heart behind it. So I am okay that my life isn't anything out of the ordinary because it is my heart that is willing to be changed into anything that he wants it to be. Jesus did way more then we will ever be faced with but the simplicity of his heart is that he loved his father enough to die and give us eternal life - NOW that is an act of love I don't deserve, but I have gotten it anyways.

How am I now going to respect what Jesus did (in all the ways he lived and suffered by) in my life today? I am going to give him the only thing I will have forever - my life.