March 23 ~ Mark 14:27-28
Jesus said to his disciples, "All of you will reject me, as the Scriptures say, `I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.' But after I am raised to life, I will go ahead of you to Galilee."
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
A few months ago, a friend of mine wrote to say that “Not Me” had cut the hair of one of her young sons. She said that “Not Me” visits often, along with “I Don’t Know.” Since no one would own up to cutting the little boy’s hair, all three of her children had to go to their rooms. Soon one of the children said, “MAYBE I know something about this.” It’s a funny story, if one that is too familiar to parents and teachers. It seems like “Not Me” and “I Don’t Know” must live in a lot of houses from time to time!
What isn’t funny is that “Not Me” and “I Don’t Know” also live among adults, quite often. We are quick to pass the buck, place blame on others, or claim, “The devil made me do it.” And in many cases, the devil surely did make us do things we should not - but in the offing, we frequently deny Jesus Christ. Oh, we don’t out-and-out say, “I don’t know Him.” We’re more subtle about it. But the end result is the same. We are just like Peter and the others… we don’t know Him.
See, we can’t say we know Jesus and lie, cheat and steal. We can’t say we know Jesus and mistreat others. We can’t say we know Jesus and use His name as a curse word – or ride the fence about such things as whether there is one God and one way to know Him. We can’t pick and choose when and how we serve Him, and we can’t live for the moment and expect God to save us later. We must learn from Peter and Judas and the other disciples. We must take responsibility for our thoughts and actions – and we must be very careful to live a life that honors God and does not disappoint or disrespect Him.
We have been given the greatest gift ever in Christ Jesus. We must acknowledge Jesus and His great love, grace and mercy by welcoming Him into our hearts and lives and giving Him “the best seat in the house.” “Not Me” and “I Don’t Know” should never be welcome… it’s time to kick them - and the devil - to the curb for good!
©2010 Debbie Robus
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