Mansplaining and Shelaborating
This week I have 5 simple devotions for you as we consider the FACT that Jesus is the Son of God.
Day 1 Big Idea: Don’t complicate the simple!
There’s a term in our culture called “mansplaining”—when a man over-explains a simple idea in a patronizing way, repeating the same point again and again. We can all be guilty of this (or maybe even “shelaborating”).
The issue that arises when we pile on too many details is that we risk burying the point. We get stuck in the weeds of details. Mark refuses to risk his audience missing the point so he starts his writing as so: Mark 1:1 “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
Mark gets straight to the point without any filler material or added detail. This writing will be about the good news that Jesus is the Christ and he is the Son of God.
These two descriptors capture everything Mark wants to be heard:
Jesus is the promised Savior.
Jesus is the actual Son of God.
That’s the simple, powerful reality we’re called to believe and share: Jesus isn’t merely a good teacher or moral example. He is God come to die in our place, paying the debt of sin for every man, woman, and child.
It’s tempting to over-explain with all the details we’ve learned—but resist that urge. The gospel doesn’t need embellishment to be profound. Jesus is the Son of God, sent to give his life as the sacrifice for our sins.
This is the good news. This is the gospel. This is what we’ve staked our lives on.
