GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 9:21
Overcoming Disappointment
It is not unusual to receive less than expected. People had raved about a new restaurant, so I decided to try it. The food and service were acceptable, but neither sparked real excitement. I left feeling somewhat disappointed.
I read a parable about a mother who took her rambunctious five-year-old boy to church to be baptized. After a few weeks, she stopped attending services. When a friend asked why, she explained that even after her son’s baptism, his behavior remained unchanged. She had received less than she expected.
Mark recorded the story of a father whose son was troubled by a mute spirit, which would often throw the boy to the ground, causing convulsions and teeth-grinding. The father had no doubt heard about the ministry of Jesus and his disciples. He brought his son to them, but they could not heal him. Again, the father received less than he expected. Disappointed, he could have simply led the boy home. At that moment, Jesus and three disciples came down from the mountain, where they had witnessed a heavenly vision, and joined the argumentative crowd. In a final, desperate attempt to help his son, the father presented him to Jesus. “And he asked his father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’ And he said, ‘From childhood.’” (Mark 9:21)
Sometimes, people may also receive less than they hoped for from a church or its leaders. In those moments, as in Mark’s story, one must press beyond the church to its Master—beyond the servant of Christ to Christ Himself. While the church and God’s earthly servants may disappoint, pressing beyond the crowd, beyond the servants, beyond even the disciples, leads us to Jesus Christ—who will never disappoint.
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