Pure Faith

I am not a fan of snakes or any animal that can kill me.

And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover." - Mark 16:15-18

In today's Gospel, Mark tells us that Jesus returned after his resurrection to send the disciples out into the world.

In his charge to them, he told them to have faith.  Through their faith, they will be able to cast out demons and avoid the dangers of poison and the deadly creatures that exist in the world.

This is one of those times when we ask ourselves if Jesus was speaking literally or figuratively. 

Back in 2014, a pastor died after being bitten by a snake during a Pentecostal church service.  I guess he was a literal believer.

Even if my faith is strong enough, I don't think I should put it to the test like that.  Why not save my faith for a real danger, a time when I really need God's help to avoid death?

If the gifts we are given are for the good of others, for healing and helping others get well, then why not focus on those things rather than put oneself in danger?

The signs Jesus talks about are for others so they will believe, not for us.  We need to be strong believers in order for the signs to appear, so they are not to benefit us or boost our egos.  Is we seek them for those reasons, we will fail.

Faith needs to be pure and real.

There is no room for doubt in pure faith.

So, until I can cast out all doubt, I will stay away from snakes and poisons.

Why test my faith?

More to come...