For Everyone Will Be Tested with Fire

Meditations of the Gospel of Mark

September 15, 2020

For Everyone Will Be Tested with Fire

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell with two hands.

Mark 9:43

Read: Mark 9: 38-50

If the disciples aren’t confused enough after yesterday’s passage, Jesus then returned to teaching in signs, symbols and non-literal ways. No, Jesus isn’t instructing them to maim themselves by cutting off hands and feet and gouging their eyes. No, he doesn’t provide a literal description of an eternity without God. However, while his examples may not have been literal, his point about the danger of sin is not lost in the metaphors.

This passage serves as a solid foundation for understanding the three essential qualities of a disciple: Hunger for God; Heart for people; Hatred of sin. Jesus says everyone will be tested with fire as a means to work out these qualities in our lives. As I noted a few weeks ago (August 28), our hunger for God is made manifest as we come into the presence of God with thanksgiving and to celebrate His glory, not just seeking for God to make our life better. Our heart for people overcomes our desire to strive to be known as better than others. Our hatred of sin keeps us focused on the dangers in trying to work out the meaning of our life apart from God.

My Takeaway: Jesus summarizes the end result of our being tested by fire: “You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with each other.” Where salt seasons our food, grace seasons our lives and allows us to live in peace with each other.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Copyright © 2020 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

• Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

• The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.