He Will Meet You There

Gerald Cook

September 2021

“He would speak the word to them with many parables like these, as they were able to understand. And He did not speak to them without a parable. Privately, however, He would explain everything to His own disciples.”Mark 4:33-34 (HCSB)

Today I sat down and read the Gospel of Mark. I read the entire book in one sitting, front to back. I had been encouraged to read the Gospels in this manner by a teacher who later amended his instruction to “as few sittings as possible,” perhaps seeing the looks on our faces and recognizing that life sometimes gets in the way, knowing we are tempted to get up and tend to other urges. I was indeed tempted to get up and check my buzzing phone or see who or what caused the dogs to bark, or simply get another cup of coffee I didn’t need. But I stayed seated. I read on. And after a while I had read all 16 chapters. Then I sat in silence.

I reflected in that silence and contemplated what I had just read: the magnitude of Mark’s Gospel; the full story; the details; the parables; the teaching. I felt something I hadn’t felt in a long time. I wasn’t anxious or confused, and yet I didn’t feel accomplished, either, for I hadn’t really conquered anything so much as I had receivedsomething. I now recognize it as a feeling of acceptance and calm, and a feeling of being opened.

My pastor once told our congregation that we should read a lot of books by a lot of smart people, but we should read the Word of God more than anything else. The primary reason for this is simple: There is no other book on earth that when you open and read it at any and every moment, you’re doing so in the presence of the author… God meets you there. Now I know what he meant.

I had opened my Bible, turned to Mark, and read the entire book. In doing so, God met me there and He opened me. He told his story and I heard it. I didn’t hear a verse taken as a quote or a memory verse. I didn’t hear a single parable told out of context or presented like a riddle and left to wonder “What does that mean?” No, I heard God tell me about His Son. He told me about Himself. He met me in the book of Mark and explained to me what He is doing, and he opened me in a way so I could receive.

Have you ever read the Bible in large sections, or read entire books of the Bible in one sitting? If not, I encourage you to do so. He does, indeed, meet you there. Just as Mark wrote so long ago, He will meet you in private and explain everything to His own disciples.