Left Behind

Mark 6:7-13:

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick— no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” So they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

Blog:

For many people, the phrase “left behind” usually refers to those that are left on earth during the great tribulation as opposed to being caught-up into Heaven (and put out of harm’s way) in what’s called “the Rapture”.  Now whether or not we Believe in “the Rapture” is not the point of this Gospel Passage.  But what is Eternally-Important in this Gospel is that, even before the start of the Book of the Revelation, we find folks who are catastrophically “left behind”.  Jesus hasn’t even suffered, been crucified, died, or Risen from the grave yet and folks are already getting “left behind”.  In today’s world, it can seem shocking at times to witness how easily the world can Spiritually-harm any of us.  But rather than being “left behind” we should focus on leaving the world behind.  Every day, God, Jesus, the Apostles, the Prophets, and the Bible are sharing the Truth with us – if we’re willing to listen to It.  It’s not hard to read a bit of the Bible each day, but far too many of us have reasons for not reading It daily (e.g. not enough time, it’s too hard to understand, etc.).  However, these reasons are not real – who doesn’t have 5 minutes a day or how can we not find an easy-to-understand Bible with 100+ English versions in 3,415 languages?  So, when our days on earth are over and we stand before the Lord for our final judgement in Heaven, let’s be sure that we (like the Apostles) have already kicked the dust off of our feet and have “left behind” the world.  And, just as you’ll never see a hearse with a luggage rack, we don’t need to bring anything with us for we only need Jesus to enter into Eternity.