by Rich Carlson

"If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand "Mark 3:24 NIV.

        Today’s story has so many things to consider. Like, for example, how it starts with the people pressing around Jesus to the point where he can’t even eat (Mark 3:20)! His family comes to "rescue" Him saying about Jesus, "He is out of his mind" (3:21). Almost humorously, Jesus immediately heals a person who really is out of his mind and the people were astonished (I wonder what His family thought after that!).

        The locals thought this must be the Son of David, their Messiah. The religious leaders who had come down from Jerusalem to check things out said He was possessed by Beelzebub—Satan (verse 22). So the dear Savior goes from being rejected by His family and called crazy, to being condemned by the "church" as being of the devil!

Jesus maintained His cool and used three illustrations to confound the condemners and confirm His calling with the crowds:

• A house divided against itself cannot stand (verse 25)

• You can’t rob a house unless you are stronger than the owner (verse 27)

• You can only get good things from good sources (Matt. 12:33-35)

Jesus concludes, "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters" (Matt. 12:30).

And my conclusions this morning:

It’s fine to disagree or have different opinions on many things but not on what priority needs to be placed on that which ultimately matters—His request that He take the highest place in my life.

Satan cannot win because God is stronger. That sounds like kindergarten theology—children’s theology is probably the most important theology we’ll ever need to learn! So if I don’t want to get "robbed" in this world I had better choose to link up with the stronger of the two sides.

Whatever is in the heart eventually surfaces and displays itself on the outside. Good comes from good stored up inside and evil comes from evil stored up inside (Matt 12:35). That’s how Jesus described it in this passage. So, my decision is: what am I going to store up inside? What do I fill my life with? What do I allow to permeate my body, my mind, and my heart? Of what does my spiritual, mental, and emotional diet consist? Whatever I feed myself is eventually what I will get back. The part of my life I feed is the part that will win.

Rich Carlson is campus chaplain at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska. “God Is Faithful” is adapted from the email devotionals he writes regularly for the Union College family. Rich enjoys filling his life with God, his family, and especially his five grandchildren.