Does your brain ever just plain get tired? Tired of the busy and tired of the constant barrage of sound and news and media and…
…and the internal thought tornadoes?
What am I allowing into my space? What am I focusing on?
There is a theoretical perfect place where everything is in balance between knowing enough of what’s going on and yet keeping inner calm and peace. Have you found it? I think that while we are still here on earth, we are always overshooting trying to find that perfect pin-point place of balance. We swing like a pendulum and aim for that ideal, but we miss. We turn around and again aim for it but again over-swing.
In Mark 13, Jesus is telling his friends and followers about the signs of the ends of the age. People have been talking about the end times for centuries. Some have predicted dates, (um – I guess they were all wrong so far) and other people don’t want to even think about it.
How often I want to turn my brain off. Just shut down. Veg out.
There is too much swirling around me and I need a break. Watch Netflix and eat popcorn. (I have a serious popcorn weakness.) Grab my phone and surf stuff.
But I think the thing about Mark 13 that smacked-me-upside-the-head is how many words Jesus uses that are intense action words. He isn’t asking us to veg out. He is asking us to be very alert and aware.
Want to word-nerd with me?
“Be on Guard” βλέπω (blepo) This is also translated “see.”
This Greek word is in Mark 13 five times. Any time a word is repeated, we want to take notice.
The definition includes the following:
see, discern, understand, perceive, observe, discover, consider, contemplate, weigh carefully, examine, look at closely (found in Mark 13: 2, 5, 9, 23, 33)
*in verse 9 we find “blepo sy blepo” = (sy means “your” and is personal… be on your guard)
Also, let’s look at two different words, both translated as
Stay awake
ἀγρυπνέω (agrypneo) keep awake, be sleepless, watch, be circumspect, attentive, and ready
and
γρηγορέω (gregoreo) stay awake, watch, give strict attention to, be cautious and active, take heed
So you can see – these are all words that are the opposite of “veg out.”
All the things in the news – all that is so accessible on all our devices – all that crowds out our own thoughts and fills them with worry and concern…
(or the opposite – we go into apathy mode because it’s just too much to care about and we get numb to it all.)
Let’s just veg tonight. Let’s shut off our brains and be entertained.
Ok. So maybe we do actually need a break once in a while. For sure. But what we do with those breaks does make a difference. I know my tendency is to whip out my phone when I have a few minutes between things.
Maybe that’s why I need a break – because I’m filling my mind with stuffing.
Go with me here for a minute.
What if I’m pigging out on potato chips before dinner and am too full to eat the broccoli? What if I’m eating so much stuffing that I don’t have room for the turkey?
Ok. Maybe that’s a stretch.
But I do believe I only have a set amount of brain cells available, and if I’m filling them with stuff that is not significant (or helpful), then maybe I don’t have any room left over for the good stuff. And Jesus is the really good stuff. The great, wonderful, mind-blowing, amazing stuff.
Mark 13 is a record of Jesus’ words just prior to the Last Supper and Jesus’ betrayal and death on the cross. For us. For you and me.
Kind of his last words. We should pay attention. (Pun intended.)
Be on your guard. Be careful what consumes you. Be alert to those messages flying in from every direction.
What are you thinking about?
Hebrews 12:2
…we must never stop looking to Jesus. He is the leader of our faith, and he is the one who makes our faith complete. He suffered death on a cross. But he accepted the shame of the cross as if it were nothing because of the joy he could see waiting for him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God’s throne. (ERV)
…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (NIV)
Last word-nerd for the day:
ἀφοράω (aphorao)
*to turn the eyes (thoughts) away from other things and fix them on something.