So Who's Your Boss?

New Testament Challenge – Day 6

Mark 1-4

One of the first topics Saint Mark covers in his Gospel is the battle between Jesus Christ and Satan. In fact Satan is mentioned as early as Mark 1.13 where we hear, “And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan.” This should remind us of the reality that there IS a war between God and Satan; a war that Satan cannot win of course, but a war non-the-less. Right out of the gate Saint Mark tells of Jesus’ power to cast out demons from people’s lives to show exactly who’s boss!

So who’s boss in your life? You may have been baptized at one time either as a child or an adult who came to know Christ later in life. You may have never been baptized because you don’t see a spiritual benefit to what you consider an “empty ritual” even though our Lord Himself commanded the Church to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them….” (Matthew 28.19) You may be reading this right now and thinking, as a good American citizen, “Nobody is MY boss! Nobody can tell ME what to do!” You may even think that makes you your own boss….you couldn’t be further from the truth.

The reality is that the Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – is the supreme boss of the universe whether we embrace that reality or not. When we don’t, then experiencing His commandments and authority is akin to torture – this is Hell. When we do embrace Him as our boss, though we use the word ‘Lord’ then we welcome His commands and bath in His authority. I can tell you one “person” for sure who doesn’t embrace Him as Lord…Satan; which is why the Gospel so clearly declares God’s victory of death and any control that Satan had over creation following The Fall of Humanity.

When we choose to turn our life over to the REAL Lord, Jesus Christ the Son of God, then we will likely experience some violent reaction from Satan, the demons that were a part of our life, and even from those friends and family members around us who cannot understand our new-found-faith in Jesus Christ. In fact many people will not be able to comprehend a decision to abandon the “American Dream” in place of a quite satisfying life at the foot of the Cross of Christ. Even Church communities who have been fooled by Satan into embracing such myths as the “Prosperity Gospel” will react violently to a new direction focused upon our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ.

It will be no different than what we hear in the Gospel, “And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.” (Mark 1.26) It may be violent, but it won’t last because it is only Satan’s final temper tantrum as another life or community is saved.

So who’s your boss?