Mk. 3:20-21 “Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind." NIV
Has anyone ever thought that you were out of your mind? One of the consistent companions of a radical Christian life is the misunderstanding and negative reaction of well meaning, but misguided people. It seems that one of the tools that God uses to refine us and train us in a life of obedience is the fact that others at times look upon our decisions, whether they be major life choices or even the values that we choose to live by, and conclude that something must be wrong with us because those choices don’t seem to mirror the values system of the world around us. God allows a significant measure of peer pressure to touch our lives and our hearts are sifted by this pressure.
Jesus was no different from us in the basic human dynamics of his earthly ministry. The single greatest contrast was that in everything that He faced, from the fame of public acceptance to the pain of betrayal by intimate companions and the misunderstanding of family members who could not grasp the unique lifestyle that He was called to, the pressures that impacted his life and tried his faith were of greater proportion than we could ever fully understand.
Throughout His ministry Jesus set an example of stability and consistency of response under pressure that speaks volumes to us. When His mother and brothers stood outside the house where He was ministering because they thought He had lost His mind, He redirected the people’s attention to the need for a life of obedience to the heavenly Father as first priority in life. When He was accused by the Pharisees of many heretical practices He stood firmly and confronted the religious spirit that was distorting their interpretation of His ministry. And when Jesus recognized that His own disciples were confused by His actions such as when they found Him speaking to the Samaritan woman in John 4 He steadily directed them to the reality that His consistent life focus was on doing the will of the Father who had sent Him. In this one action, without ever addressing their concern directly, He answers the confusion that He perceives in their heart with a clarity that cannot be overlooked.
Jesus demonstrated a remarkable capacity to stay focused on His mission regardless of the opinions of others. He lived with a mental tenacity that would not allow people’s opinions, religious deceptions, manipulations and temptations to compel Him to abandon His God centered values system and conform to the demands of the multitudes. In the same way the life of Christ calls to us to stand strong against the tide of public opinion. It challenges us to be neither swayed by seasons of fame, nor to be diluted by seasons of opposition. Paul exhorts each one of us in 1 Cor 2:16 that “we have the mind of Christ.” And because we have been given this incredible gift we have the same capacity of focus and the ability through Christ to live in the same peace filled composure that He demonstrated even under the most difficult circumstances. Ask the Lord for this place of strength and peace that is His gift to us. Paul instructed his disciple Timothy in 2 Tim 1:7 “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, love, and of a sound mind.”KJV You can live with God in a confident peace of mind. That mind is the mind of Christ.
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