The Painted Door Church - Chicago

Withdrawn No More/ Mark 1:32-39

June 23, 2019 Pastor Mark Bergin
The Painted Door Church - Chicago
Withdrawn No More/ Mark 1:32-39
Show Notes

Finances fail. Relationships sour. Our bodies sag. This life is a whirlwind of trials and glories, and the noise of it all is unceasing. And so we withdraw. We find places to take shelter and hide. We pour ourselves a drink and unlock the screen and checkout for a moment or two. And that is not evil. But the breaks we take from life’s swirl are just that -- breaks. When break time is over and we return to the story, nothing has changed, least of all our perspective. Jesus lived in this whirlwind, too. And, like us, he took breaks. The scriptures record that he often withdrew to quiet places away from the noise. Yet his times away effected change, not of circumstance but of perspective. When Jesus withdrew, it was not to escape his life but to practice being more present in it. In his solitude, Jesus sought the heart of his Father. How do you see all of this? How do you see me? Jesus learned to look at his story with his Father’s eyes. He learned faith, that is, the imagination to see what only God can see. That we have nothing to fear. That a gracious king ever reigns. And that even death cannot destroy us.