Mark 4:24, 25
Like Thomas Jefferson, I would like to take certain parts of the Bible out, but they are there for a reason. It would defeat the purpose of the Bible if we removed all the passages that didn’t “sit well” with us. Maybe the reason Jefferson took all of those parts he didn’t like out was because they hit too close to home. For us there may be parts of the Bible that “hit too close to home” that we wish we could take out because it would make life “easier” or at least help us not feel guilty about what we are or aren’t doing.
But what good would it be for me to only read and ponder the Scripture that makes sense. There is something about wrestling with those tough Scriptures that I feel brings me closer to God. I guess, after all, it is only in our wrestle that we can actually get close enough to God to be touched and gain limps (I’m speaking of Jacob here in Genesis 32). And a touch alone will heal. Just ask the bleeding woman (Mark 5:28) and the blind man (Mark 8:22).
It’s sad for me to think that some may not ever get to touch or be touched by Jesus. I think the kicker though is that we have to want to be touched to even get in the predicament of being touched. I mean, the one thing that Jacob, the bleeding woman, and the blind man had in common was their faith and their desire for some sort of confrontation. They had to confront Jesus for Jesus to heal them, either of their selfishness and control issues, blindness, or brokenness and bleeding.
Maybe our Scripture today is all about having a spiritual life that desires faith. I mean, as we heed (listen carefully) to what we hear, we will gain faith, since faith cometh by hearing (Romans 10:17). And the more faith we have, the more spiritually mature we will become. The more mature we are, the more we will be able to understand the truths of Scripture. Thus, the more we hear or listen carefully to God, the more spiritual truth we will be given.
So then I guess verse 25 means that whoever has a spiritual life that desires faith and confrontation with Jesus will learn and grow; but whoever does NOT have a spiritual life that desires faith and confrontation with Jesus will lose the little desire they have. This is kind of like the old saying, “If you don’t use it, you lose it.”
However, I honestly don’t know how to take this verse. I don’t want anyone to lose their desire to grow closer to Jesus. In my own life, as broken as I am, I can honestly say that the only reason I have hope is because I have Jesus. The only reason I can face the accusations the world tells me on a daily basis is because I have Jesus telling me He loves me and won’t leave me through any of it. The only reason I feel worth is because I know Jesus bought me at a price.
Even in this post, I don’t have an answer to the questions that verse 25 can bring up. All I can do is continue to wrestle with God in my understandings and continue to believe that through my brokenness and story I will remind people of their desire for faith or of the desire they once had. The same can be said of you. Tell your story. Share your life. Your story may be the only story someone would “hear” that would cause them to have “faith.”