Today’s scripture: Mark 1:1-8 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message)
As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.
My thoughts (Mark Shoup):
As we begin our Be Still study of the book of Mark, it is interesting to me that the book doesn’t start with Jesus’ birth, or even his genealogy. It begins with a bizarre wild man “preparing the way of the Lord.” This man, John the Baptist as we know him, was an odd character by anyone’s standards. He would not have fit in well with polite society. We know that he lived out in the wilderness and wore camel hair, so it is probably safe to assume he didn’t smell too good — plus he ate bugs! He was probably the first-century equivalent of our stereotype of a crazy homeless person.
But strangely enough, God used him. And not just for some menial ancillary task that barely gets mentioned in one of the minor prophets, but to herald the coming of the Lord and to prepare the people for his arrival! By all accounts, he was successful, as people were coming out from the city and going into the wilderness to be baptized by him!
Imagine if you lived in that time and happened upon John the Baptist and didn’t know who he was, or what he was doing. Would you see him as a messenger of God, or would you dismiss him as a crazy person to be avoided?
Before you answer, let me tell a story that actually happened to me about 10 years ago. I was vacationing with friends in California and we decided to take the ferry to Catalina Island. While boarding, I noticed a very large woman dressed in little more than rags. Her hair was a fright and it appeared she had not seen the inside of a shower in quite some time. I thought to myself that I would make sure that when I found a place to sit, there would be no empty seats nearby, so that she wouldn’t sit down next to me. I got settled and was relieved that she was nowhere to be seen. I assumed they didn’t let her on the boat, or she didn’t have the fare.
After we had sailed for a while, I started to feel seasick and decided to go up on the deck for air. When I got up there, the only other person was the woman, sitting by the rail looking out over the ocean. I decided to sit as far away as possible and not make eye contact.
As I sat there, the woman began to sing. It was a beautiful and haunting song, possibly in Gaelic, and was simply one of the most lovely things I have ever heard. Her voice was like what I would expect an angel to sound like. It brought tears to my eyes when I thought how harshly I had (mis)judged her, and how I had tried to get as far away from her as possible.
I worry that had I come across John the Baptist, I would have quickly walked the other way. Just think of all I would have missed!
Now, when I come across people who make me uncomfortable, I try to remember to ask God to help me to see them as God sees them, and not through my own prejudiced eyes.
Thought for the day: Am I seeing people as God sees them?
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.