MARK 4:35-41 – “On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?””
THEME OF THE DAY: SEEING HOW JESUS SEES US. In Paul Tautges’ excellent book Remade: Embracing Your Complete Identity in Christ, he addresses a reality that plagues many Christians, and an effective tool of the devil to discourage them. It is in the last sentence of the following excerpt from his book . . . “Many Christians have a significant gap between their theology and their practice, between their intellectual knowledge and functional knowledge. Do you? For example, you may believe God accepts you by grace alone but function as if you’re ultimately going to be accepted because of your own efforts. You may believe God is sovereign (He has all things under His control) but function as if you are the one who is in control. Why? Because you have not applied your view of God and His love to your view of yourself.”
Many Christians struggle with how they think God views and treat them. Oh, they confess Jesus as Lord and Savior. They are genuine believers, but as Tautges states “Many Christians have a significant gap between their theology and their practice.” Let’s be honest. Have we questioned God’s love toward us when we fail Him for the umpteenth time? Have we battled doubt of His treatment of us in those too often times we give into temptation and sin? What about struggling with believing He forgives us as we confess the same nagging sin over and over? And in difficult fearful circumstances, do we misrepresent Him in our hearts and minds?
Our joy in the Lord, confidence in walking with the Lord, and impact for the Lord largely rests on how we think Jesus sees and treats us. And the devil will do all he can to get us to have a warped view of Christ’s thoughts toward us. But not only the devil, fearful and challenging circumstances also tempt us to mischaracterize our Lord. Like the disciples in today’s scripture.
The storm raged. The angry waves threatened to sink their boat. Even the seasoned sailors among them were gripped with fear of perishing. And they let the Lord know. Waking Him, they confronted Him with these most blasphemous of words – “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Here was the Son of God, the Creator, the Savior of the world, the One who called these men to follow Him and change the world, and the God who is love being accused of not caring for them. Why did they act in such a way? Fearful circumstances clouded their understanding of who Jesus truly was and His treatment of them.
We are not different. Don’t let accusations of the devil or difficult circumstances become our theologians. They will always paint the Lord’s heart and treatment of us in a bad light and contrary to the truth. It would be a good prayer to regularly lift up to heaven – “Lord, let me always see You as You truly are, how You view me, and Your always loving treatment of me.” He loves us, will always love us, and treats us out of His heart of love for us.
PRAYER: Lord, help me to see You as You really are, not as I too often incorrectly think You are.
REFLECTION: Learning to see ourselves as God does is essential to living the Christian life with confidence.