By Peter Oliver, Olive Branch Marriage and Family Ministry

A man with leprosy came to Jesus begging him, and kneeling said to Jesus, “If you choose, you can make me clean.”  Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I do choose”. Be made clean.  – Mark 1:40-41

Mark’s audience is made of there-is-a-knife-in-my-back; Roman-soldier’s-at-my-door; Christian = dead, people.  So why tell them an “if-you-choose” story?

Because they get it.

An “if-you-choose” story is a “jump-out-of-a-plane” story.  You can’t change course if the parachute doesn’t open.

But the core of this story isn’t the “Hello Mr. Teacher, as you can see, I’m a leper, RISK.”  It’s much deeper than that.

It’s a “this-is-going-to-cost-me” / “I believe” / “Jesus Christ = power” story.

In Mark’s world, it takes guts to be a Christian.

Things haven’t changed.

The Church is a sinking ship. It takes courage to stay on board.

 

ReStart – Building divorce and separation resilience (click for more information)

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[This is a weekly blog re-published from www.olivebranchministry.ca with permission from author Peter Oliver. Each post is exactly 100 words.]