RELENTLESSLY GULLIBLE

Mark 8:34 has never been more emblazoned on my heart and mind than it is now as we make our way through Jesus’ call to Follow Me in the Gospel of Mark. Having discovered that the call to “deny yourself” is the same call Jesus makes in Mark 9:35 to “be servant of all”, it naturally leads to the radical fight against sin we find in Mark 9:43-47 (cut off your hand and foot, and gouge out your eye). I came across this quote recently in reading Remember Heaven (Matthew McCullough) that describes this very passion we must have to not let anything capture our affections above following Jesus. Listen to how he describes it – “For now, our hearts are the battleground for competing loves. Part of the torment of life in this world is the weakness of our love for God and the ease with which our heads can be turned toward one false hope and empty pleasure after another. We are relentlessly gullible, let down at every turn, and disappointed most of all in ourselves. We know we ought to know better.” May our knowing better lead to following better and loving better. Let’s help each other fight against being gullible to the ploys of the enemy to take our eyes off Jesus!