Original: February 20, 2008
McMinnville, OR
11 I have become foolish; you yourselves compelled me. Actually I should have been commended by you, for in no respect was I inferior to the most eminent apostles, even though I am a nobody. 12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles. 2 Corinthians 12:11-12
Call me old school.
With all of the modern technology out there you can still find pink surveyors tape in my backpack whenever I walk into the wild. I use the tape as a trail marker when navigating through unclear terrain or for marking the blood trail of an arrowed animal. I also carry reflective pipe cleaners for navigating in the dark; just in case.
If there is one thing I have learned in my years of hunting in the Manzanita brush of California’s A Zone it is that the terrain changes. Darby, my cousin, and I loved to hunt old burns (an area swept by fire) but the problem with a burn is that one year the brush might be knee high but within a few years it could be over your head. This happened one year when hunting a ridge into what we called the Hell Hole. We maneuvered our way into the canyon in the light but walked out in the dark. Thankfully for us some unknown hunters had placed glow-in-the-dark pipe cleaners (more like trash bag fasteners) along the path. They jumped at us when our headlamps met their reflective coating. They saved us hours of pain and suffering and led us straight to our truck.
We meet Paul in this passage trying to convince the Corinthian church of his apostleship. This church gave Paul fits. On the one hand, they were and incredibly gifted church spiritually, moving in their respective gifts. On the other hand they were carnal; engaging in all forms of adultery, incestuous relationships, and class struggles within the church, dissension, immaturity, and competition. They went so far as to question the authority of the very one who planted their church, Paul. In response to their skepticism Paul reminded them that his “signs, wonders and miracles” were not only performed but witnessed “with great perseverance”. Essentially, Paul is saying, “Hey guys, not only did I perform signs, wonders, and miracles, but I did them over and over and over again.”
These miracles were Paul’s apostolic “mark” for the critical body of believers.
This got me thinking about my mark.
What trail markers have your life established on the path that you have forged for the King? If people were to follow the markers of your faith where would they lead? If people continue to follow a man’s life markers where will they end up? This should concern men deeply. What markers have you set up for your marriage, your children, your friendships and your ministry?
When people step off a man’s trail and witness his faith markers what conclusion do they come to? Are you a charlatan, phony, hypocrite? Or do they see the true marks of a follower of Christ?
A man will be remembered by the tracks he leaves. What markers are you leaving of your faith in Jesus? Often times the race marked out for a man is left by another man whether it is a father, mentor, pastors or example of faith.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1).
