Sunday Reading: Mark 16:9-14
Key Verse: Mark 16:14
14 Afterward He appeared to the Eleven as they reclined. And He reproached their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.
Devotion:
Just these few verses paint such a picture that we look at them and realise that we too are in a world where belief seems to be something that only comes through seeing rather than faith; and even then seeing does not always mean belief... The disciples had been told that Christ would raise Himself from the tomb after three days and yet when they first heard it, they would not believe. They were told from two different sources but would only accept the truth when The Truth stared them in the face!
We think of Thomas as being the only one who did not believe that Christ had risen until He stood before them in the chamber; but clearly from this passage, he was not the only one. This is the great thing about having the four gospels is that we can get a personal account from each of the men, each giving their own views on the events that happened. The fact that each of them agrees in so much detail should leave us in no doubt that Christ is our Lord and that He has risen!
So why the unbelief? I think that we can safely say that we suffer from the same thing that everyone in the past has suffered from – even though we have suffered from very different things! That sounds a bit weird but what I mean is that we have all suffered from some temptation that has drawn us away from God’s side at some time. These disciples were caught up in mourning which in itself is a good thing but not when it takes over and blocks out God. Whatever we do do in our lives, we must always make sure that we invite God into all that we do because He belongs with us! It is only the hardening of our hearts that will exclude God from our lives and we are the ones that have the choice as to whether we do harden our hearts or keep God in them...
Points to Ponder:
Are you hardening your heart?
Are you allowing God to have a chance?
