Sunday 3 Oct 2021

October 3: Mark 10:10-16
 
Key Verse: Mark 10:15
Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.
 
Devotion:
It still amazes me how much people get caught up in life in ways they should not. I'm not saying this as a person who always does things right because I know I get things wrong all the time and I even get caught up in things I should not be in... But it still amazes me how we do get caught up in things!
 
The Pharisees were questioning Jesus about divorce and all things like this. They wanted to see what Jesus would say and if they could catch Him saying something which did not agree with the law, they would have something against Him. Jesus tells them it was because of the people they were given rules about divorce! In an ideal world, we would meet the right person and we would stay with them for the rest of our lives together and Jesus wanted them all to understand how much God wants us to stay in a relationship when we start one – but also how we should pick the right relationship to start with.
 
When the children were being brought to Him the disciples started trying to turn the adults away, telling them off for bringing the children to Jesus. His response was to rebuke them for what they were doing. He knew the hearts of the children were open to the truth and they had no guile in them at this stage!
 
It is the feelings we build up inside of us which break things down. We harbour feelings which we should be letting go of because they harden our hearts and build up resentment when we should be forgiving and moving on. When the disciples were sent out to do their thing, Jesus warned them to move on and forget about the people who rejected them. Children are very good at letting go of others who treat them badly and holding on to those who treat them well – should we not be following this example?
 
Points to Ponder:
Do you have any bad feelings you are holding on to?
 
Will you give them to God and move on to something new?