GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 13:9
Job Descriptions
My younger brother and I went to a farmer not far from our home and asked about a job. We had thoughts of driving tractors and plowing fields. “Yeah,” the farmer said, “I do have a job.” He led us down a long drive, past a machine shed where a beautiful tractor sat, to a soybean field that looked as large as Lake Michigan. “You see the weeds in that field,” he said. “I need someone to pull those weeds. Don’t chop them; I need them pulled up by their roots.” This was not what we envisioned—pulling weeds!
We started at one end of the enormous field and worked our way up row by row. I had one row, and my brother had another. As I recall now, it took us several days to pull all the weeds from that field. It seemed that every day the field grew larger. Had we known what kind of job the farmer had in mind, we might have chosen to play ball instead.
Mark recorded Jesus’ job description for his disciples: “But you watch yourselves. They will hand you over to councils and synagogues. You will be beaten, and you will stand before governors and kings on account of me as a witness to them.” (Mark 13:9) Today, I live in a country where believers are not hauled before political and religious leaders because of their commitment to Christ. But that is not true in every country. There are places today where believers face persecution and even death for their commitment to the living Christ. Jesus’ job description is not for the faint of heart.
Despite the hot summer in Illinois, my brother and I finally reached the end of the field, and the weeds were gone—we stayed at the job. In the same way, in Jesus’ job description, the believer stays true to Christ regardless of opposition.
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