Torn

Have you ever found yourself torn between doing what you are supposed to do and doing what others want or need you to do?

In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him.  When they found him, they said to him, 'Everyone is searching for you.'  He answered, 'Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.'  And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons. - Mark 1:35-39

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus gets away from the crowd to think.

Everywhere he goes, the people come and crowd him in, wanting him to perform miracles, curing the sick and healing the lame.  That is not what he has come to do.

We talked about this in our Bible Study group last night, and one person was adamant.  Why did he come then, if not to help us?

Why indeed?

One could argue that he became man to set us on the right path, to show us how to love one another and live as though this is the Kingdom of God, right here, right now.

But isn't that the message of John the Baptist?  And didn't the prophets say similar things?

So, if the purpose of Jesus' ministry was to get us to shift our focus from ourselves to others so that the kingdom may be alive in us, do we get the message through his words or through his actions in healing the sick?

Perhaps that was what he was praying about in the deserted place.

What's the best way to help the children of God?

I wonder if we face the same challenge as Jesus.  Don't we struggle to find the best way to help those in need?

Some of us feel the best approach is to raise our voices to affect change, while others offer a hand to the person or persons they encounter along the way.

The word and the action go hand in hand, I think.  Jesus could not simply talk about helping the poor and the needy.  He had to show us how to do it as well.

So, there we are, locked in the same struggle that God deals with every day with all of us.

We can say it is not our job to fix what is wrong, and we can go on our way, but if we have an ounce of compassion, we will turn back and offer what we can to help.

It is the example He gave us, after all.  And I guess if it is good for Him, we should be able to deal with it.

More to come...