Tag Archives: mark 12:34

day 3K95: Almost

“When Jesus realized how insightful he was, he said, “You’re almost there, right on the border of God’s kingdom.”

“Almost”.  It’s an easy word to use and it is also a dangerous word to use.  When we hear “almost” as a modifier it could mean a lot of things.  The word shows up in our work all the time: We are “almost done”,  we are “almost ready to start”,  we are “almost there”.  But, what one person hears in “almost” can be so different than the what the speaker means.  When we hear “almost”, and we are likely to hear it is many times today, then it is on us to ask for clarification on what it really means, not just leave it no clarified.

We have to go to The Message translation of the Bible to find Jesus ever using the word “almost”.  In this verse His words are being translated from “not far”.  Even here we can see that the word “almost” is not enough.  Jesus tells the man that while not far, or maybe close, that there is still a ways to go before he crosses into God’ Kingdom. And, in this context, more for the man to understand and then surrender to Jesus.  Maybe that is the way of God.  While we are here on earth we are always working our way through being “almost there”, even when we have decided that we want to be a part of God’s kingdom.  God has so much more to reveal to us and He does it each time we seek more of Him and yes, one day the word “almost” will be removed from our vocabulary.  Until that time though, it is on us to commit and strive to be closer and closer to Him.

Reference”  Mark 12:34 (The Message Translation)