"Marked" for Success!

As I was reading through the last chapter of 2 Timothy this morning, I was arrested at verse eleven where Paul requested that Timothy “Get Mark and bring him with you.  He is useful to me in my work.” (2 Timothy 4:11 God’s Word ©)  I suddenly could go no further as all the contradictions of Mark’s life paraded before my thoughts.  Here is a man, a full-blooded Jew who was surnamed Mark, following the tradition adopted by many at the time of having “a double name- one Jewish, ‘John’ and one Gentile, ‘Marcus’ (or Mark).” (Expositions of Holy Scripture – Alexander MacLaren)

Mark started out his career in the high profile position as an associate minister accompanying Paul and Barnabas on Paul’s first missionary trip, only to desert them when they left the relative safety of places that Mark was familiar with and return to the comfort of his mother’s home in Jerusalem.  Following this incident, Paul refused Barnabas’ request to take his nephew Mark along on their proposed second missionary excursion.  John-Mark then went into a period of relative obscurity for about twelve years.

After this he turns up once again in the company of Paul during his first imprisonment in Rome.  We also find him as a close associate of the Apostle Peter, who refered to him as his son in his concluding statements in 1 Peter 5:13.  Following his initial failure in the ministry, John-Mark became a vital part of the leadership of the early church as a later companion of both Peter and Paul, wrote the Gospel of Mark (thought to be taken from his time hearing Peter’s teachings), most likely ministered to the Asiatic churches (Colossians 4:10), and had since secured a special place in the heart of Paul in that he was specifically requested along with Timothy, to be at Paul’s side during the final days of his life in the dungeons of Rome, after everyone else had deserted him except for Luke.   

The story of the life of John-Mark is a great example of the restorative love of Jesus in the life of someone originally labeled as a “failure.”  How many of us have faced failure in our lifetimes?  Maybe you too have been “marked” as a failure by others.  Well, there is a lesson to be learned here.  Mark was such an individual who was rejected by those in authority, but yet bounced back, never gave up and in his later years became a prominent figure in Christianity who went on to influence millions of Believers through the centuries by his writings and personal experience!

And while I am sure that John-Mark had help along the way from his uncle Barnabas and the Apostle Peter, he still had to make some personal decisions on his own to repent and then move forward by facing his fears and growing into the man of God that he was destined to become.  His example is a good one for us to follow when failure comes in our lives.  I think that sometimes the hardest part of getting through the failures is forgiving ourselves and moving on despite what others may think. 

At times like this it is probably best to take your eyes off of man and turn them fully onto Jesus and the truth of His Word.  Saturate yourself in His promises and allow His restorative love to heal you, to teach you and to lead you on to the next steps in your life.  2 Corinthians 5:14 says “For the love of God constraineth us” (KJV) meaning that His love is the power that guides and compels us as well as forcing us into the correct position so that God can do His best in, for and through us!

If you’re feeling like a failure today, then take in the Good News and know that God’s love is the answer you need to turn it around.  Bask in His love and you’ll soon find yourself as one “Marked” for success!  Have a great day.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”