the “hook”
January 26, 2011
I was a huge fan of the show series Lost. I watched it every week with friends, and if I had to miss it, I would be on the computer the following day watching it on line. My friends and I would read into every little detail, and really study the characters. There would be flash backs of the characters lives and we would try to figure out what each flashback meant and how it fit into the overall story. That show always kept me coming back. The “hook” at the end always left me wanting more. Each episode would reveal something, but also raise new questions. It was frustrating, but SO good!
The church I attend has been encouraging the entire congregation to read through books of the Bible together. We are currently reading through Mark. Mark is one of four “books” in the Bible which primarily tells about the life of Jesus. The quick version of which includes Jesus being prophesied about, born of a virgin, and around the age of 30 having a ministry that included; disciples, miracles, his own death and resurrection, all under the proclamation that he was the one true son of God. Now it’s not an obligation to read Mark, it’s just a suggestion. In a way, it’s sort of like watching the episodes of Lost. We can collectively interact with the same material, and talk about it. I think the books of the Bible even did what the writers of Lost did, just a few thousand years earlier. They answers questions, but still raised more. They gave information, but not every little detail that you might want. They had a good “hook”.
In the beginning of Mark there is a short blurb that speaks about Jesus’ Baptism and Temptation. I’ve read this part of the story before. Jesus is in the water with John the Baptist and the Spirit of God comes down and lands on him like a dove. Then Jesus goes into the desert where he is tempted by Satan for 40 days and of course, because he’s JESUS, he does everything right and he has his big “ministry” for three years. But it just hit me today. Why the tempting right after the Spirit came? It’s like the greatest and worst all in one.
I know that I’m not Jesus. But I know that I have the same Sprit that he did. I know that I’m tempted every day and pretty much have been since I received the Spirit. So if Jesus needed to pass his test of temptation before his ministry could begin. What are the areas that I’ve not passed yet? What are the areas that I need to give up control in? Is there a great ministry that will bring honor and glory to God that I’m missing out on because I’ve not fully trusted the Spirit to guide me past the temptations? For me, the answers to these questions are the greatest “hook” of all time!
My fiance recently shared a quote by DL Moody, “The world has yet to see what God can do through one man whose heart is fully devoted to him.” After she told me that, I wanted to be that man. I WANT to be that man.
