Individual Impact

Jim:

2 Samuel 3:6-21
With all the maneuvering and positioning going on regarding who would be the king of Israel and who would support whom, it was touching to read verses 14 and 15 and see that individual men and women were being effected. “Then David sent messengers to Saul’s son Ishbaal, saying ‘Give me my wife Michal, to whom I became engaged….’ Ishbaal sent and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish. But her husband went with her, weeping as he walked behind her all the way to Bahurim…” The image of a weeping husband, powerless to do anything is haunting to me. It would appear that David was in within his rights to reclaim his wife, but the circumstances by which he did so were devastating to someone else. Incidentally, this won’t be the last time that David takes a woman away from her husband, so perhaps this is also a bit of foreshadowing.

Acts 16:6-15
It would be easy to focus on the regions and cities being mentioned in this passage, with Paul and his associates moving around as if on a chess board. But here again, individual lives are being touched in real ways. In this case it is Lydia, who according to verse 14, was “a worshipper of God.” The story of the Bible may deal with big themes and big images, but eventually it all has to come down to “street level” and how individuals are affected by the gospel of Jesus Christ. In our efforts to proclaim the gospel we should remember that it is the individuals with whom we come in contact that are really important.

Mark 6:30-46
Keeping with the theme of individual lives, I noted verse 46 in this reading: “After saying farewell to them, (Jesus) went up on the mountain to pray.” Jesus has just fed a crowd of 5,000 plus, but he needs “Jesus time”, so he goes off by himself to pray. Private prayer was an important part of Jesus’ ministry and should be an important part of our lives of faith. We can not live fully as Christians in isolation, but it is essential that we take time as individuals to converse with God and to seek God’s word for our living. Jesus knew that and sought opportunities for it.