Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
Mark 4:38b-39 continues the compelling account of the crossing of the Sea (Lake) of Galilee: “And they awake Him, and say unto Him, ‘Master, carest Thou not that we perish?’ And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, ‘Peace, be still.’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” The disciples, a number of whom were professional fishermen, recognized the lethal danger of this tempest. However, their frightened rebuke of Jesus revealed that they did not yet truly understand Who He was. Their petulant query is well translated by James Moffat in his A New Translation of the Bible as follows: “Teacher, are we to drown for all You care?” Thus, these men were accusing Jesus of indifference to their plight. This blasphemy – for that is what it is – has no place in the Christian’s life. Sadly, though, we can approximate this critical attitude in the way that we view our Savior God. I remember a lady who once said to me, “Well, I guess God really has it in for me.” Like all of us, she did not have a perfect life; but she had a loving family, financial security, and good health. Still, she felt that God was distant and uncaring. Over time (about three years), she came to a better understanding of God’s present love. I have often said that I do not want to become a bitter old geezer (“old geezer” being my wife’s favorite term of endearment for me) by thinking that God has ceased to work in my life. Let us decide that negativity regarding our Savior has no place in our lives, “for all the promises of God in Him [Jesus] are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us” (II Corinthians 1:20).