Late one night, as outside the wind and rain beat against the windows, an elderly couple sat by their fireside in their dressing gowns, ready for bed, sharing a few last thoughts and prayers about the world and friends over mugs of cocoa. Suddenly there was a loud banging at the front door.
“Oh! No!” was their joint exclamation as they and their cocoa jumped and drinks were spilled. “Whoever can that be at this time of night?”
The man rose from his chair, brushing off droplets of cocoa with a handkerchief, and went to the door. He opened it just in time to prevent it being hammered again.
“Hello, what can I do for you?”
In front of him was the bedraggled figure of a young man, who looked decidedly rough and seemed somewhat unsteady on his feet. He said,
“My father said to come here if I ever came on hard times. Well, he was right. I’ve made a mess of things and now I’m here to find out what to do.”
There was an edge almost of resentment in his voice, as if it was with the greatest reluctance that he had finally heeded his father’s advice.
“At this time of night?” was the response: “Have you somewhere to sleep tonight?”
“Yes, just about!”
“Well this is what I want you to do, go and sleep off whatever it is you’ve been drinking. Then come back, this same day next week—earlier in the day, please—smarten yourself up and in the meantime I want you to read the Gospel of Mark. I bid you good night.” And so saying, the door was firmly shut.
For a few moments the young man paused on the doorstep, then he turned away back into the night, pondering the encounter. It wasn’t quite what he had expected.
The following week he did return. He had smartened himself up. He had read the Gospel of Mark.
He was ready to listen about what he should do. Over a period of weeks his situation was discussed. Together with his new friends, he opened up the Bible and discovered its teaching. Bit by bit, almost unconsciously he started to get his life back on track. There was a marked change in his attitude, and his state of mind. His mentors were Christadelphians, and he was eventually baptised into Christ in a Christadelphian meeting.
The Question
But there was always a question at the back of his mind, which he never did seem to have the opportunity to ask. Why had he been asked to read the Gospel of Mark?
Why don’t you try the same thing? I’ll be reading it at least twice this year, as I follow the daily readings in the Bible Companion. Choose yourself a Bible version—whatever you have on the shelf, or if you don’t have one you can download an app. (This magazine uses the English Standard Version.) Find the Gospel of Mark, which is the second book in the New Testament, and start reading.
As you read, ask yourself why that young man was asked to read it before they started to talk.
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So you’ve come to the end of your journey in the Gospel of Mark. What’s your answer to that question?
Perhaps it was because by reading one entire book of the Bible the man could demonstrate that he was serious about wanting the help his mentor could give. Perhaps it was that Mark is the most straightforward and the shortest account of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The actual answer was this, in the old man’s own words: “I wanted you to have an encounter with my Saviour.”
David Nightingale