GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 9:29
No Shortcut
Natural objects always take the shortest route, as do humans. Water, for example, takes the course of least resistance. Electrons in a circuit also take the shortest path. Anyone who touches an electrical wire knows that the way of least resistance is through his finger, through his body, to the ground. In fact, the word “short” describes this principle—the shortest path.
Many years ago, I received information from an organization offering degrees for a fee—a diploma mill. Of course, those degrees were worth only the paper they were printed on. I tucked the information into a folder at the back of a file drawer. In fact, it may still be there.
I was attending university when I received the diploma mill letter. Climbing the educational ladder was a slow, demanding process. I told a friend that if it ever came to the point where I wanted the degree more than its intellectual substance, I could, for a few dollars, take the shortest route and satisfy that desire by purchasing a diploma.
In his account of Jesus healing the boy with an evil spirit, Mark wrote that the father first brought the boy to the nine disciples, but they could not help him. When Jesus appeared, the father brought the boy to him, and Mark recorded that Jesus healed him. Later, when Jesus and the disciples were alone, they asked why they could not help the boy. “And he said to them, ‘This kind can come out by nothing except by prayer.’” (Mark 9:29) It’s as if Jesus were saying, “Sorry, boys, there’s no shortcut here. Prayer is the only solution.”
The principle stated by Jesus and countless other believers remains true: There is no shortcut.
Previous
Next
Directory