Lessons Mark’s journey can teach us. First, failure can be useful if we learn from it what to avoid in life. This writer has a series of biographies on bad Bible characters—with What Not To Do as the theme.
Success in discipleship consists, not of perfect decisions, but making more Right than Wrong decisions. Choosing more good than bad companions. Developing more good and controlling or cancelling more bad habits. Second, refusing to discuss differences in family and friend relationships may quiet them, but silence won’t remove them. How many times had Paul and Barnabas discussed Kingdom issues between AD 47-48. But never mentioned Mark. That refusal didn’t resolve their differences. Paul still felt Mark had deserted them; Barnabas still felt Mark had learned his lesson and deserved a second chance. Christians face this problem when befriending unbelievers. We may think our example will be enough to win them. That won’t happen often. And Christians may carefully avoid discussing Christ’s importance in order to prolong the friendship. That response denies Christ’s commission to bear witness by behavior and teaching. A better approach consists of a time:
Christian friends, husbands and wives may avoid discussing subjects sure to raise the temperature. A better approach may be:
Be sure of this: if we don’t agree to address the differences quietly, we will address them at some unguarded moment, at the least opportune time, when raised voices stifle amicable decisions. End Part III
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
May 2024
Categories
All
|