Today’s passage Mark 6:6b-13
“They didn’t teach me that in school”?
When I hear people utter those words, I typically want to respond, “Of course they didn’t.”
Perhaps that is an overreaction on my part. Yet, somewhere along the way, an expectation has creeped into our brains that before we do anything, we must be fully ready. I don’t think that is how life works.
It is like saying you need to know how to parent a 5-year-old when your child is still in the womb.
We certainly need some level of natural and learned ability. Yet think back to most positions where you have performed well, either at home, or school, or work. Did you know it all before you started? Or, was learning and figuring things out part of what made it a great experience?
When I started at any job, I had to learn. For those manual labor jobs, I brought my physical body, some level of coordination, and an attitude to work, often in tough conditions. They either taught me the specifics on-the-job, or they let me sort it out for myself.
When I graduated college with an Engineering degree, I mostly brought proof that I had grasped engineering principles and had the aptitude to learn in that field. As I took on more responsibility, I received some training, but often was left to think hard about how to actually get the job done, being supported along the way. Before I operated a nuclear power plant, I demonstrated that I possessed a core set of knowledge and was expected to continue to learn about the plant.
As time went on in all these various jobs, I was given more autonomy. It always meant learning on the fly—which means risk-taking. It normally meant widening, as well as deepening, my level of knowledge.
Consider Mark 6:6b-13. Jesus is sending out the disciples. You might think you missed some moment where the disciples dramatically gained knowledge. A mere chapter ago the disciples were more than a bit uncertain regarding their faith in Jesus?
You did not miss anything.
You might want to yell out to Jesus, “This gaggle of folks is not ready!”
Jesus sending them out follows naturally. They have followed him. In their following we have read of their feebleness and their fumbling. Yet might I note, they are hanging in there with him.
In this passage we see Jesus’ confidence in his followers. He is like that coach or choir leader you had. You know, the one who put you in a situation you were pretty sure you were not ready for—but he put you into the mix despite your objections. Further, he was there with you. He leaped for joy when you succeeded. He was the first one there to console you when it did not perform as you (and he) hoped.
Think back, can you remember any situation like the one I just described?
I can remember many.
Perhaps there is no more real situation then when it is Jesus sending you. We have been reading in chapter 5 all about Jesus encouraging people to have faith. Time again he has invited people to trust in Him.
Now he, in faith, sends the disciples out. He is not physically present with them. He has given them His authority.
Today the church is one of the places I see people most frequently crying out that they are not ready. Isn’t that interesting? Afterall, God and his church are experts at inviting us to walk on water! He equips with his Holy Spirit.
Today God may be asking you to risk yourself, to do something, and to grow.
That true moment of growth arrives when I myself am able to speak a word of witness, or do some gospel deed, in which my reputation, my being depends on His power being there.
Look, I get it. We like safety. But a life of faith is not a safe life. Consider Jesus who we follow. What did he risk? Everything. He risked being born of a virgin. He risked being rejected. He risked death!
When we seek to follow in Jesus in safety, we stunt our growth and narrow the power of the gospel.
Where today is God challenging you to step out in faith to serve him? Are there situations where the “spirit of this age” is telling you that you are not ready? Pray. Ask God to both equip and send you.