Our world offers many forms of distraction. With the technology advances in particular like the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and social media, it seems everything is often vying for our attention. Whether it is the gadgets we carry (phones, tablets, smart watches, etc.), the media and entertainment we absorb, the work we do, the families and circles we are part of, everything is a potential distraction. Why is that a problem you ask? Because distraction by definition is anything that steers you away from your course of action, from your main objective. Distraction makes you focus your attention on something else that was not part of your original plan. We often use distraction as a way to forget our issues but the truth with distraction is that it can lead you astray. The bible is filled with examples of the people of Israel being led astray or being distracted but I want to focus on the example par excellence that we have in the person of Jesus Christ as portrayed by Mark. In the book of Mark, Jesus is shown as someone that was very determined and focused on the goal he had to achieve and nothing seemed to be able to steer him away from his objective. We know that Jesus is our model as the only man to live without sin, everything he did must be what we strive to do and how we endeavor to live. In today’s post, I would like to look at the life of Jesus from the lens of Mark and derive from it lessons we must emulate to avoid distraction in our Christian walk.
Unlike the other synoptic gospels that either begin with a genealogy of Jesus, a history of Jesus or the beginning of his life, Mark begins with the ministry of Jesus. It is true that Mark does tell us that John the Baptist is a precursor to Jesus – that he is his witness but that is about it. Mark does not tell us much about John but jumps right into the acts of Jesus. Those acts begin with the calling of the first disciples and then continue into the miracles Jesus performed. Early in Mark, we see Jesus driving out an evil spirit, healing many and casting out demons (Mark 1:34). It is indeed striking to see how quickly Mark introduces the notion of Jesus being above evil spirits, having authority over demons. Mark is the first one to talk about the spiritual realm in that fashion and I believe Mark’s point was simply to show to his audience that Jesus is indeed above EVERYTHING like he himself said in Matthew, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18). Moreover, Jesus said about himself that he fulfilled the prophecy by Isaiah that read “the Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” (Luke 4:18-19). Jesus knew exactly why he came into this world, he knew the work he was sent to do and with that knowledge he powered through while on the earth. Indeed, we see Jesus sticking to his plan, he was never found doing something he was not appointed to do. The bible does not record a single instance where Jesus was found doing something outside of God’s plan in his life. Everything that Jesus did while on the earth can easily be found in the Isaiah prophecy that he quoted about himself. He was always preaching the good news, teaching, releasing the oppressed, healing the sick, bringing freedom, etc. Mark mentions a time when everyone was looking for Jesus after he had performed many miracles yet Jesus responded “let us go somewhere else – to the nearby villages – so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” (Mark 1:38), talk about being focused! Instead of reveling in men’s glory, Jesus remained true to the work the Father had assigned to him. I don’t know how many of us in Jesus’ shoes would have done the same. Most of us would have probably gone to meet with the crowd because gifts would have followed, praises as well, being put on a pedestal and even worshipped. Yet, Jesus was not about that, he remained faithful and obedient to the Father. The distraction of men cannot and should not steer us away from doing what the Father has commanded us.
As Christians, we know that we are called to do everything for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). We are called to live a life of righteousness according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. This means, we must stay the course, run the race as Paul told us because that is our mandate. As new creatures in Christ, we now belong to the kingdom of Light and we must live as citizens of that kingdom. Part of living in this new kingdom is by obeying every command of the Lord Jesus like going and making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). It means ensuring God’s agenda of saving souls is a priority. It means displaying the fruits of the spirit and living according to what the spirit wants and not the flesh (Galatians 5:16-18). It means living our lives as living sacrifices to the Lord (Romans 12:1). With such a high calling, we cannot be wasting our time on matters of the flesh which only seek to distract us from the main goal. These matter of the flesh include: quarreling, dissensions, anger, rage, jealousy, unforgiveness, gluttony, sexual immorality, covetousness, offense, injustice, etc. (Colossians 3:5,6; Galatians 5:19-21; Romans 1:29-31). We should be busy in doing good as we are encouraged to never grow weary in doing good (Galatians 6:9). This “good” involves living according to the spirit, producing acts of righteousness, bringing the good news of salvation to the lost, offering the gift of freedom to the many captives around us. The commission we were given as new creatures is already big enough and requires much attention so we do not have time to waste on the desires of the flesh or on fulfilling our wants. Like Jesus said, we must be willing to cut off a part of our body that causes us to sin instead of having our whole body thrown in hell (Matthew 5:30) or like Hebrews, we must “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1). The stakes are extremely high in our calling hence we cannot afford to be distracted by what we like or do not like about each other, our preferences, our lifestyles, our intellect, our pedigrees, etc. These things only keep us away from running the race marked out for us, they only ensure we end up disqualifying ourselves (1 Corinthians 9:26). One thing that I appreciate so much in the life of Jesus and the disciples is that they all relied on the Holy Spirit to accomplish the work that was before them. They never relied on themselves even though their lives exhibited the “strict training” worldly athletes go through as mentioned by Paul. They knew it was not a matter of might and power but one of the Spirit of God working in them to do the good work that the Father had prepared for them in advance to do (Ephesians 2:10). Like Jesus, Paul and the rest of the disciples, we have to come to grips with the fact that we were created in Christ Jesus to do good work and we must be at it as diligently and as rigorously as an athlete who is competing in a race is.
Therefore I ask you, what have you been distracted by lately? What has stolen your time? What has deterred you from the good work the Father prepared for you to do? What has caused you to disobey and sin against your heavenly Father? Unfortunately, the times we live in will cause us to be even more distracted as more advances are made with technology, as more depravity rises, as wars and rumors of wars take centre stage. However, this is a time where we must focus all the more on our purpose and calling as believers in the Lord, to live righteously, to bring salvation to a dying world and to remain steadfast to our faith. The Lord’s coming is at hand. Can the Father count on you? I pray the Holy Spirit stirs our hearts to the reality of these end times and may he draw our hearts toward God’s agenda and away from ours. Amen.
A Word Aptly Spoken 