Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.”
NL Daily Devotion for Saturday, April 6, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Jesus is gone. Yet we hear in v. 10 that Jesus didn’t leave the disciples unequipped to share the good news. They were able to do “signs” to help convince their listeners that they were telling the truth. In the book of the Acts of the Apostles, we hear about all the different miracles Jesus’ friends could now do that they weren’t able to do when he was in the flesh with them. But at no time did any of them try to set themselves up as a new Messiah. They only testified to Jesus. So we can imagine the same was so according to Mark. They shared the good news about Jesus, supported it with “signs” of various kinds, and gave credit where it was due.
This can be a slippery slope for us humans. Just think of how many times you’ve seen it—a charismatic person gives powerful testimony about God and brings people to faith. And before you know it, they start to think they’re “all that and a bag of chips.” That it’s not really God who matters in this equation, but them. Even if it’s not on some national scale, we’ve seen it in our congregations, among our friends, even. It’s so easy for the human ego to forget that we’re not God. We need always remember that sharing the good news of Jesus is about Jesus, not us. The best thing about that is that when we keep this in mind, how our testimony is received is not about us. There is freedom in being able to share our faith without having to convince anyone of anything. That’s between God and the listener.
Is it easy or difficult for me to share my faith with others?
