I want to take you on a journey of the mind. Pretend with me. Say you went to an expensive dinner in an elegant restaurant? While you wait to be seated, you notice the décor’ of the room. The matradee walks you to your table. You run your fingers through the centerpiece to see if the flowers real, all white roses. The table cloth white with hand-polished, diamond-stud handle silverware. Got the picture?
This imagery illustrates Mark 9:43-46. Jesus unveils body parts that entraps one into sin. Those parts mentioned in the scripture are hands, eyes and feet. Notice entering the restaurant, your recognize the décor’; you couldn’t look away. Your feet takes you to that part of the room that captures your attention. Finally, your hands reaches for the very thing you desired, the flowers. This is a visual step-by-step on how sin occurs in stages. Observe Eve's entrapment in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9). She looked a the tree with desire, walked to it and reached with her hand; taking the object and biting it. Jesus states it's better to cut off your hand, feet and dig out your eyes if they cause you to sin.
If your eyes are drawn to porn, it’s better to go to heaven with no eyes than go to hell with both. If your feet take you to the club instead of church, it’s better to go to heaven with no feet than to go to hell with both feet. If your hands can’t help from lifting items not belonging to you or murdering someone, it’s better to cut off your hand and go to heaven than to have it and go to hell. These words sound strange but the scripture doesn’t promote self-mutilation, but instead stresses the importance of cutting sin out of your life so you can make Heaven your home. Painful self-discipline is required of Christ true followers. Giving up a relationship, job, or habit that is against God’s will may seem just as painful as cutting off a hand, but isn’t Christ iworth any possible loss or discomfort? Nothing should stand in the way of your faith. You must be ruthless in removing sin from your life in order to avoid suffering in eternity. What will it be? Heaven or Hell?
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