Deeper Life #144

And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

—Mark 1:23–24

THE FIRST ATTRACTION OF JESUS is on the human basis, not the miraculous. The holiness of Jesus fascinates us because it is a distinctly human holiness.

Yes, Jesus attracts us by His holiness. And then He says, “If you want to be like that, you will have to meet the conditions.” This is not a judgment, but a statement of fact. Jesus does not command our allegiance. Yet the heart of every man or woman must confess Him as Lord and Master to obtain the fullness of life.

This idea is reflected in Napoleon’s statement at St. Helena: “Jesus has succeeded in making every human soul an appendage of His own.” Only in Jesus do we find what our hearts and minds crave.

I wish that everyone would obey this instinct of the heart. To see Jesus and refuse Him is to be condemned, as surely as to accept Him is to be saved.

Prayer Thought: I am human, Lord. Yet I am glad to know that, with my human inadequacies, I am fully able to follow You.

SUGGESTED READING: Mark 1:22–27