Mark 10

This devotion was written to accompany the Venture Church 2023 Bible Reading Plan.

What do you do when a trusted friend tells you something you don't want to hear? How do you respond when they speak truth to you, but the truth stinks? It's a tough situation, I know, i've been there. I have a very tight inner circle and when someone inside speaks wisdom against a decision I made or a perspective I have, I filter that through allll the truths I know.

Does this person love me? Do they care more about my holiness than my desires? Can they see a higher and bigger perspective than I can? And ultimately, is their character one I truly trust to point me toward the Lord?

If all this is true of our earthly friends, imagine how much more true it is of our Heavenly Father and Christ, our Savior! This chapter has back-to-back sections of scripture we don't like to read. It makes us feel uncomfortable. It's the part we like to skim over and hope the pastor never preaches on. Why do we feel this way? Because each section of this chapter -- divorce, children, wealth, favoritism and status -- hits us on a personal level. We either ARE or we love someone who IS currently living against Jesus' teaching.

Here's what we know as believers -- we never have to defend God's word. It is true and it is holy. It is inerrant and it proves itself true from cover to cover. And I certainly am not about to spend the next few paragraphs defending the words of Jesus that you might not want to hear.

Instead -- let's run it all through a filter.

Does Jesus love you? Oh, more than you will ever know. He loves you so much that He cares more about your holiness than your happiness. He loves you so much that, because He helped form you in your mother's womb and knows every hair on your head and knows every detail of your days, He has a perspective you don't have. Bottom line -- His character can be trusted.

So when He throws a paradox your way that makes you scratch (or shake) your head...

• like how two should be one

• like how adults should be as children

• like how the first should be last

• like how servants should be rulers

• like how the poor become rich

... you trust Him. You listen. You surrender to His wisdom over your own. You submit your daily plans to His ultimate will. You surrender your desires for His righteousness.

When we operate this way, it is counter to our culture and brings glory to our God!