Mark 10-11

It’s hard to choose where to focus in Mark 10-11. Many things in these two chapters touch my heart in a huge way; Jesus’ question to the rich young ruler, for example. “Why do you call me good?” “No one is good except God alone.” I want to cry out, “but wait Jesus, YOU ARE GOD!” What was He saying? As I look at the life Jesus lived in His time on this earth I come to the conclusion that he was the perfect personification of Good. Hmm…personification of Good…Jesus was God in a body… Maybe Jesus was trying to get the rich young ruler to see, truly see to whom he was speaking. He wasn’t just speaking to some person who did good things; he was speaking to Goodness in the flesh! I don’t know very much about the origin of words, but I think it’s interesting that “good” and “God” are only one letter apart, two “O’s” instead of one. It’s almost like when I add an extra letter for emphasis or exclamation, like “Ooh!” or “Hmm”. God equals Goodness, Goodness equals God. The two are inseparable. And not one of us can claim either title for himself; they equally and only belong to the Father!

I’m learning to speak Creole, se tre difisil pou mwen (it is very difficult for me!). In a recent lesson I learned something interesting about the Creole word for “God”. The word is “Bondye”. “Bon” means good. “Dye” comes from the French “Dieu” and means God. Haitians never separate the two. When they mention the name of God it is always Bondye: Good God!!! “Dye” is almost never used alone. That’s something for us to remember when things happen that we don’t understand; things like earthquakes in already impoverished countries, or new struggles for someone already struggling mightily. God and His Goodness cannot be separated. He just doesn’t DO GOOD, He IS GOOD!


Julie Hallman
March 3