Our Christian Walk

Dear Weekly Readers!

Please enjoy this weeks article written by Shane Juuti! 

May God Bless your week! 

 

John

Dear brothers and sisters in faith, I pray that this short portion of Scripture will bring you joy in the simplicity of how our walk should be.

And he (Jesus) sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him. And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?  And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us. (Mark 14:13-15)

A beautiful picture of a Christian's walk can be easily overlooked in the great depth of this Scripture. The man bearing the pitcher of water gives much insight into our Christian walk. Here is a man, it would appear, who was simply going about his daily tasks. Unbeknownst to him, Christ was using him in a powerful, most important way: to lead someone to the house where the Passover was to be eaten.

All he was doing was carrying a pitcher of water. The Passover is the natural picture of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross that we also remember in Holy Communion; we spiritually partake of this when in repentance we come and have the blood of Christ struck on our hearts. We see that the room was all prepared.

The man with the pitcher no doubt knew this, but the text gives no indication that he had done anything to prepare it. Spiritually, the disciples show how Christ works in hearts to direct people to find this prepared room.

Again, the man with the pitcher had no idea Christ had sent someone to look for him or that he was doing something to lead someone to his master's house.

Let's take example from this man. He knew the room, and the feast was prepared. He didn't worry about trying to get the right people to come. Christ was giving those ones the directions they needed. He was simply going about his life but, on the spiritual side, visible for all to see, was the fact that he was bearing the living water of the simple Gospel message.

So, when we are to sow the seed on all ground, why was he not splashing water on all he met? Because it shows the subtle difference between the seed of the Word, and the living water of the Gospel. His walk showed that he believed the Gospel of the forgiveness of his sin for himself, and people could observe that he was forgiving also. This type of walk sows the seed of the Word on every type of heart we come in contact with, and has the power to draw people.

We know that splashing water on people, no matter how hot and thirsty they appear to us, causes anger or, at the very least, annoyance. If someone asks though, they are most thankful for even a small drink of water. If we start telling people about the truth of forgiveness it very often causes contention, but if a heart is thirsting for forgiveness it is most thankful for the Gospel message.

It is a difficult task for us as humans to simply walk with the love of Christ showing in the forgiveness we have for others, trusting that God prepares everything else. The feast is prepared; He sends the ones who are seeking. He will have us in exactly the right place at the proper time to lead them there, and He will provide the right words to speak if He decides to use us.

May God grant the peace to trust that it is so simple to each and every one of us. Amen. ~

Shane Juuti,

Alberta, Canada