Daily Verse: Mark 14:50

Then everyone deserted him and fled.
 

The text above is pulled from the part of the Gospel where Jesus is arrested by an armed crowd of people, sent to do the dirty work for the chief priests and elders. The scene was probably pretty frightening for those that were with Jesus…a large, likely angry, crowd appeared in the night, armed with swords and clubs, bent on arresting Jesus. And it would make sense to think that they might also look to apprehend anyone that might be supporting this “religious rebel”. So when the heat was turned up, folks took off. In fact in verses 51-52, it seems some might have even left in panic…”A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.” As we stand on this side of the story, it might be easy to accuse those that failed to stand in solidarity with Jesus as being weak, flawed, and easily influenced by the pressure of the world. But what about today…do we run and leave Jesus when things start to get a little difficult? When the world starts to question the ways of Christ, do we stand in solidarity with our Lord? Or do we head for the hills where things are a little more comfortable? Do we proclaim “Yes, I follow Jesus!”…or do we keep this inside and under wraps so as to not ruffle any feathers or make any adversaries? I pray that when the heat starts to get turned up, that we stand firm in our faith…I pray that when the world comes with some new idea that fly’s completely in the face of our Lord, that we stand on the side of our God. It may be uncomfortable…our knees may start to shake and things may seem like they are beginning to crumble…but when we stand with the Lord…when we stand on the side of righteousness, we can be completely assured that we stand on solid, unshakeable ground. May we never turn our back on the Lord…may we remain solid in our faith…and may we forever proclaim Christ as Savior to the world! To God be the glory!