Reaching out with power

A few years ago, the Trapholt Art Museum in Denmark drew notoriety when an artist displayed an exhibit of 10 blenders with goldfish in them sitting on an open display.  Visitors were invited to “interact” with the art.

As you can imagine, it didn’t take long before a couple of blenders became orange fish soup—someone had interacted.

Well animal rights groups sued the museum for animal cruelty. But the judge said the goldfish were killed instantly & humanely. So the exhibit was left up, but the blenders were unplugged.

In Mark’s Gospel, we see that life is a lot like those blenders—we can be going through life swimmingly, and all of sudden verse 26 says “the unclean spirit had torn him.” It ripped through the poor man.

And that’s often the way life feels in this fallen world. Like you’re living in a blender.  Just when you think you’re doing fine, watch out— you’re about to be pureed.

But Mark also shows us that Jesus willingly enters—into this blender, this sin-cursed world of danger & demons & disease, of fever & leprosy, of paralysis & withered hands, of blasphemy & deadly storms, of demon-possessed men & bleeding women & dead daughters. 

And that’s just the first five chapters.

Mark shows us we need Someone with power to come into this blender of life, where we’re as vulnerable & helpless as a goldfish.

Someone with power—to cast out, to heal, to pick up the pieces of our lives, and make us whole again.

Because of Christ's power, you can go through life with vigilant confidence.