And [Jesus] said, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” (Mark 4:9).

Jesus is not afraid to warn people, and sometimes rather sternly (see Matt. 7:24-27 as another of many examples).

But we’re not comfortable doing that lest we be accused of sticking our noses in other people’s business. We want to avoid being judgmental. We find it easy to warn people about physical dangers (“Don’t smoke!” “Drive safely!”), but we avoid communicating the spiritual dangers of ignoring Jesus’ teachings. Why is that — especially if spiritual dangers, in the end, are more dangerous?

Are you being called to warn someone about a spiritual danger? How might you do that in a way that communicates love and not judgment?

–Mark Galli
This is part of Mark Galli’s guided journal, “Discovering the Untamable God,” a 12-week journey through the Gospel of Mark. Twice a week, you’ll receive a new journaling prompt encouraging you encounter the wild, untamable Jesus of the Gospel of Mark and let his radical sayings and actions transform your life. Use these prompts in your own journal or in group discussion. If you’re joining this journal mid-way through, you can start journaling at any time, and stay subscribed at the end, when the journal will restart and you can receive the prompts that you missed.