“On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Let us cross to the other side.’ Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, ‘Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?’ They were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?’” (Mark 4:35-41)
This story about Jesus calming the storm at sea appears in all three synoptic gospels. What I like about this version of the story is that Jesus asks the disciples, “Do you not yet have faith?” In the other two gospels he says, “O you of little faith” (Matthew 8: 26) and “where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25) I feel like his words are more sympathetic and loving in Mark’s gospel. It is early in his ministry and the disciples are fairly new followers of his. They have seen miracles performed by Jesus and they have heard many parables but their faith is still in its infancy. And Jesus’ words speak to this. The word “yet” indicates that Jesus knows their faith will be great one day but it isn’t there yet. They were fisherman so they knew how powerful the storms on the sea could be. They had a natural fear that we all do when we have seen the devastation that can come from violent storms. Why would they think that having Jesus in the boat with them would change the course of the storm? Over time, they will learn that Jesus has power over all things and their faith will reflect this.
Our faith is a gift from God but in order for our faith to grow we must cultivate it. Faith is trusting that God keeps His Word. We cannot trust God if we don’t know Him. In order to know Him we need to spend time with him. Like all of our relationships, we can’t know someone if we don’t spend time with them. We learn more about God by reading scripture. God wants his Word to be a delight to us, so much that we meditate on it day and night. Those who take delight in his Word are, “like a tree planted near streams of water, that yield its fruit in season; its leaves never wither; whatever they do prospers.” (Psalm 1:3) Our faith isn’t something that we dedicate an hour to on Sundays but something that we live each and every day. If we stop pursuing Christ, we are letting our relationship with him deteriorate. We never grow closer to Christ when we just live life; it takes deliberate pursuit and attentiveness. So let us continually and deliberately draw closer to Christ so that in all things and all circumstances we will know in our very soul that we are never alone and that He always cares.
No comments:
Post a Comment