Just Small Talk!
In Mark’s gospel there’s a little conversation between an unnamed disciple and Jesus; they are walking together out of the temple and the disciple casually remarked ‘what massive stones, what magnificent buildings’. A seemingly innocent comment but Jesus responds with amazing revelation; ‘do you see…not one stone here will be left on another’. The disciple was making small talk and he got so much more than he bargained for; but I think Jesus loved it. This disciple sharing his life with Jesus moment by moment led to revelation and this is the kind of life Jesus is calling us to.
God’s primary call to humanity is into fellowship with himself and we can trace it from Genesis through the old covenant fellowship offerings through to Jesus’ death and resurrection securing unhindered fellowship with God in Christ. In John 15 Jesus shows us what this fellowship should look like; a branch attached to a vine, unbroken interaction, life constantly flowing from the vine to the branch. Our fellowship with Christ needn’t be limited to a 10minute quiet time plus open home and a Sunday service; it can and should be loving communion throughout all the activity of our lives, even small talk about architecture!
But in John 15:15 Jesus goes even further; not only are we to be servants of God we are to be friends, those who know their master’s business. Through our loving relationship we gain insight into God’s plans and purposes for our world. Our intimacy with Jesus is not just to heal, restore and give us joy; although it is for all those things it is also for purpose. The disciple Mark writes about is left speechless when Jesus drops his bombshell, and as we share our lives moment by moment with Christ he has some amazing vision to share with us too.
Just as this disciple did we can receive revelation as we small talk with Jesus, but his response in Mark 13 shows us what kind of revelation this will be – Jesus is all about his kingdom! His revelation will always concern the extension of Christ’s rule and reign on the earth until the whole cosmos is restored and reunited in Christ (Eph 1:9).
If we are to accomplish our ‘Go’ commission we need to be living in this unbroken fellowship with Christ, sharing our lives with him and alert to his question ‘do you see?’ So chat to Jesus about everything, and let him tell you stories about the places you go everyday and the people you meet. The most casual comment you make to Christ could be the start of some serious kingdom revelation! Living this way with Jesus can never be boring or mundane; it’s always fresh, growing and fruitful; let’s share our lives with him in a new way and as we do so see his kingdom purposes fulfilled in our friend and family and in our city.
