MARK 9
42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ 49 For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”– Mark 9:42-50
MARK 9 CUT OFF WHAT WILL MAKE YOU SIN
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When you serve the Lord Jesus Christ, you can’t be out of control
You are accountable for every deed you do and every word you utter
You are responsible for shining your light especially to children
You will be judged and punished if you cause these little ones to sin
So, remove anything in you that will make you disorderly
The Spirit guides you to choose the path that is true and holy
If your tongue makes you sin, meditate and memorize Scriptures
If your mind devises sinful thoughts, make it obedient to Jesus Christ
Cut off right away what will make you sin at its onset
If you allow it to grow, it will insatiably satisfy the flesh.
Mark, the writer of this account, is a close companion to Paul and Barnabas during their missionary journey. He narrates Jesus’ words very clearly and with such boldness. When he talked about little ones, he was referring to the early and new Christians. These words were cautionary so that the people of God are responsible for maturing the faith of those who are new believers instead of being a stumbling block for their growth.
Jesus boldly presents the importance of living an uncompromised life. We are shown that whatever part of us compromises our purity or holiness, we need to remove it right away. What happens when we don’t? We will feed the desires of the flesh since that is human nature. Mark is stressing the importance of cutting it in the bud before it grows full blown. It may sound literally cruel to cut off a part of your body, but it is symbolic of the spirit that Mark is referring to. In the book of James, he mentions that our tongue comes from hell itself. We use it to praise God and also to curse someone. That is just how sin has imprinted our flesh with such corruption. If we are in Christ, there is hope for man because the Holy Spirit corrects us when we tend to feed the cravings of our flesh. We must therefore cut off anything that will compromise our path to righteousness. If we allow even a tiny inch, we will be eaten up.
REFLECTION
· Why is it important to cut off evil desires as soon as it manifests itself?
