Today's Daily Lesson comes from Mark chapter 14 verses 27 through 31:
27And Jesus said to them, ‘You will all become deserters; for it is written,
“I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.”
28But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.’ 29Peter said to him, ‘Even though all become deserters, I will not.’ 30Jesus said to him, ‘Truly I tell you, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.’31But he said vehemently, ‘Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.’ And all of them said the same.
I know many faithful people, some of which are right now placing their own lives in jeopardy for the sake of the Gospel. They are courageous beyond words. Yet as faithful and inspiring as these friends are, in the end we each have our limit. We each have our point of selling out. Put us into enough torture or fear of torture, destitution or fear of destitution and even the most faithful among us will break. We each have our limit. None has descended into hell save Jesus.
We take up our own cross, and we seek to follow as far and as faithfully as we can. But in the end, it is Christ's cross alone which saves.
I keep thinking of my great friend and spiritual guide Ted. During a time of great anxiety in my ministry, I was asked by another friend if I was in jeopardy of selling out. I said no I wasn't going to do that. Ted, a former Methodist minister himself who knew something about congregations and pastors himself, looked at me with clear eyes and level gaze, and said, "Ryon, you'll fall short. You'll stop short of your convictions. You'll betray your what you want to say with what you think can be heard. You'll sell out. So what?"
That "So what?" changed my life. That "So what?" helped me realize that in the end even the most faithful among us will be saved, not by works, but by grace. With that "So What?" I fell into mercy.
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