Friday Reading: Mark 7:9-13
Key Verse: Mark 7:11
11 But you say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, Corban! (that is, A gift to God, whatever you may profit by me)
Devotion:
Have you ever said that you cannot do something because you have already promised something to someone else? I’m sure we have all done that at some stage so that we would not have to give in and share what we have just because we don’t want to share. This is what Christ was talking about when He said that people say “Corban”. That word was used to indicate that something had been dedicated to the Lord and that it should not be used for anything else. Now at this time people were already saying that they had dedicated things to God and yet were still hanging on to them for their own use but effectively making it so that nobody else would be allowed to use them!
It had got to the stage where people were excluding even their parents from being able to use or have certain items because the children would say that those things were dedicated to the Lords use only. How many things do you have like that in your life? I’m not talking just about things that you say are dedicated to the Lords use because in our culture we do not have that sort of an issue but rather about things that you have said are for one use just to get out of sharing them for another use? And it’s not just the physical things in our lives but us as well.
Christ came into this world to show us just how far things can go when you show others how much you love them. When you do that you must do so with open arms and an open heart too. That means sharing with others and not keeping things to yourself. That means making sure that you are available to others should they need your help. That means making sure that you are willing – not necessarily able – but willing! Christ wants us to be willing souls because He showed us how willing He was to save us from our certain demise.
Points to Ponder:
Are you able?
Are you willing?
