willing mind
Happy Saturday!! Saturday is probably my favorite day of the week. I love waking up on a Saturday, sipping on my coffee, and just taking it nice and slow. Anyone else?? This week we’re looking at what it looks like when we let our minds take control. In Mark 3, we see an example of what it looks like when you let your mind take control.
Mark 3 tells the story of a man who entered the synagogue where Jesus was with a withered hand. The Pharisees watched Jesus to see whether he would heal the man on the Sabbath. The Sabbath was seen as a day of rest, a day where there was no work done. Because of this, the Pharisees watched to see if Jesus would heal the man so they could accuse him.
You’ll never guess what Jesus did… he healed the man. He told the man to come to him, and then he turned to the Pharisees and said “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” Yikes, I’d hate to be in that crowd having Jesus say that to me. The Pharisees were silent, they didn’t say a word. Jesus looked at them, he was angered and “grieved at the hardness of their hearts” (Mark 3:5). And then he proceeded to heal the man’s hand.
You see, the Pharisees had removed any emotion or care to the act of following the law. They had become so legalistic in their devotion to God and the care of others. God calls us to care for other people, to love them the way He would. The Pharisees were unable to do this because they were too concerned with what their minds believed and that was the law.
We live in a time where the world is constantly trying to battle for your mind & worldly logic doesn’t line up with what God says. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Logic isn’t enough to carry your faith. If you simply rely on logic, the bible just becomes a set of rules you have to follow. When you focus on laws and logic, you become legalistic. When you become legalistic, you become religious. Your relationship with God moves from a relationship with God to a religion with laws.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s important to know what is is the bible. It’s so so so important to know what God says, but when you begin to only rely on what you know and don’t truly believe what the bible says, it becomes legalistic. God doesn’t call us to be legalistic. He calls us to have faith. God doesn’t love you more or less simply because you follow the rules. He just loves you for you. Don’t let your mind take control over your life.
As I mentioned in last week’s blog, I mentioned the verse 1 Chronicles 28:9. God calls us to serve Him with “a whole heart and with a willing mind…” There are so many instances during Jesus’ time on Earth where he was doing something that was “against the law”, something that others didn’t agree with. But he was fearlessly faithful to God. He served his father with his whole heart and a willing mind.
