Category: God

An Unexpected Discovery

Nearly 40 years ago I had the privilege of sitting in a small Sunday School class with an amazing preacher and theologian, named G.B. Williamson, who passed away later that year. We were studying a passage in Luke 8: 22-25, which told the story of Jesus calming the storm. It was one of the first times that a New Testament passage lead to an unexpected discovery that deeply affected me.  Here is the passage:

Rough ocean22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.  24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”

An unexpected riddle

A most perplexing riddle came out in the discussion. Jesus asked the disciples: “Where is your faith? ” The immediate follow up I think of is – “Faith in what?” Possible answers that come to mind are:

unexpected drowning

      1. Its a general question with a general answer.
      2. Jesus is with us. We will not die.
      3. The skill of long -time fisherman and a sturdy boat will get us through.   – Perhaps they could turn back and get out of the storm?
      4. We are going to die.

In each case, G.B. explained why our answers were wrong.  It was driving us crazy as we sat through most of an hour. Each answer was proceeded with ‘No”.

What could his correct answer be?

The Clues

    • One clue that comes through was the disciple’s amazement. “Who is this?“At this time in their ministry, they did not comprehend who Jesus is.
      •  They knew he was a healer. He had handled leprosy, blindness, released demons, and made the lame to walk.
      • They knew he was a teacher. His teachings were amazing and transformative, providing a new perspective from earlier teachers.
      • They had seen him raise a child from the dead.
      • He is an extraordinary man.
    • They knew all this, but still Jesus asked, “Where is your faith?” Was it not enough to  have faith in the great healer/teacher/resurrector?  No.
    • If Jesus is with us, we can still die. Christians are not exempt from dying. We can  have faith we are going to a better place, but God’s plan for us while on earth does not mean we have a mantle of guaranteed protection.
    • We can not trust in our own skills. The story tells us the danger was real. The boat had swamped, and they were in great danger.

The answer to the riddle

Comprehending who Jesus is is something we all have to come to understand.  Is it enough to say that I need faith in Jesus?  No. It is  not unexpected to think that the disciples did have faith in Jesus. Something more is needed. after all, Jesus was still asking “Where is your faith?”He did not say that out of exasperation. He did not say it because he was upset, or pumped up by the event they were going through. He knew exactly what he was doing. Let’s look at 2 passages that point to the answer:
First, Isaiah 55: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
 
Isaiah’s words tell us that we cannot expect to fully comprehend God. He is just so much more than we can understand. We will never have an idea of how much a little rain squall will affect us. We think of simple cause and effect – rain= I get wet. rain=my boat gets swamped. Rain= I could die.  God’s actions are multi-dimensional. I will never grasp how pervasive His actions will be in my life, but there is a discovery I can use. 1) The scope of God’s actions will always be greater than what we can imagine! But, it does not end there. In that last verse reference from Isaiah, it says 2) The words He speaks will never return empty. God’s words will
    • accomplish what He desires.
    • achieve the purpose for what He sent it.
to know God is sublimeIt was some point after this story  when the disciples fully understood that Jesus is God.  John noted this in John 1: “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
 go to the other side
The answer for the disciples’  faith question was in the first statement made in the story.  “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.”  The Word had spoken: a command. There was nothing else that could happen except fulfillment.  All of them were going to the other side of the lake. Our faith should always be in the Creator/the  Living Word. The Living Word always makes it happen. Period.
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