Re: Verse reading–Mark 14:12-31 (day three)
“‘Surely you don’t mean me?’” It’s hard to take an inside look. How about this hilarious 2002 statistic from pollster George Barna: Ninety percent of pastors rate themselves as above-average preachers and teachers. Ninety percent are above average? Think about that. Anyway, Jesus kept saying life with him requires that a person deny himself. But we say we just need a little margin, a little breathing space, a little vacation from the frustration. If we can have that, we’ll be golden. No, Jesus says, we don’t need that. What we need is God’s mercy in the face of our depravity. As long as we’re in surely-not-I mode, we won’t believe for a moment that our own wickedness is gumming up the works. And so we claim to be without sin.
