I recently repainted our house. While I’m happy with the results, close investigation reveals the need for touch ups. This is mostly because my painting training consists of watching a few others and receiving tips from home improvement stores.

My painting methods mirror the way I pursue many things. I want to be proficient without taking the time to truly learn. I value competency that comes without effort. I wonder if Jesus’ twelve disciples felt similarly. Mark 9:33-41 shows them arguing over who would become the greatest. Perhaps they were looking for the position and influence they perceived would come through being a disciple without embracing the necessary training.

Mark 3:14 notes that Jesus called the Twelve “so that they might be with him…” This was to be their first and foremost task. The goal of any mentor-apprentice relationship is for the apprentice, or disciple, to become like the mentor. Time is the key element — the disciples being with the teacher so much that they absorb character and mannerisms as well as action.

We are to become so much like Jesus that others cannot help but see him when they look at us. Prayer, Bible reading, and being with other Christians are means of being with Jesus, but it’s important that these don’t simply become activities to be checked off a list. Being constantly with him requires attentiveness so we can “practice the presence of God” continually.

Lord Jesus, I want to be with you. This is your primary call to me as your disciple, and even the culmination of my existence — that I would know you and be with you for all eternity. Thank you for making that possible through your death and resurrection. Teach me to be continually in your presence, and make me more and more like you daily. Amen.

Go Deeper — We need reminders to draw near to God in the midst of life’s busyness. Try one of the following suggestions for a week and see how it tunes you in to God more fully:



Tags: The Gospel of Mark Mark 3
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