Alignment

How good does it feel when everything goes your way?

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" - Mark 4:35-41

When Jesus stills the wind and the storm, his disciples are amazed.  No one has that kind of power or influence.  

Imagine if we could control the weather.  All this fear of Global Climate Change would go away in a flash.

When the stars align for us, we are amazed, but when they align on command, we are blown away.

So, by giving in to the fears of his friends, Jesus may have unintentionally taken a little of the wind out of our sails, so to speak.

He made it appear that this type of control or influence is reserved for the divine.  You and I can't make the clouds disperse, the rain start or stop, the seas calm.

We wouldn't even try.

And I think that is the damage done here.  We believe, quite strongly, what we cannot possibly do, so we never try.

In fact, we would feel foolish if we did try.

Imagine if Jesus said, "Peace! Be still!" and the boat tipped and knocked him over.  That is what we would expect of our own actions.  So, we would never try.

This is why Jesus admired children.  They don't hesitate to stand and battle the wind.

For them, anything is possible.  Or at least anything is worth trying.

More to come...