Sometimes I'm just dense. That's really not a new revelation for me but frustrates me nonetheless. Imagine my relief to be reminded today in my Bible study that Jesus' disciples were just as dense. I'm studying the apostle John so follow along with me for a minute and let's catch up to the "guys."
Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John had all dropped their fishing nets, informed good ole' dad they were off on an adventure, and trailed along behind Jesus. They saw him turn water into wine at a wedding feast, drive out evil spirits, and heal Peter's mother-in-law as well as many others with diseases. I'm sure the wonder and awe was apparent on their faces as they realized this wasn't any ordinary Nazarite. But they still had no clue how really EXTRAordinary He was.
The first evidence we get of this is in Mark 1:36 where it states that Simon and "his companions" went to look for Jesus. Companions--not disciples, not apostles, not even followers--just companions. This seems to imply, for me anyway, that they were still just along for the ride at this point. It must have been a pretty big ego booster to be associated with someone who was getting so much attention. Sort of like groupies for a rock band. But did they really get that He was THE Son of God? I just don't think so, not yet anyway.
So Jesus decides to get away from it all for a few minutes of quiet prayer time and here comes Simon "and his companions" busting into His solitude yelling, "Everyone is looking for you!" Not "sorry to interrupt you" or "excuse me but..." or not even just waiting until He was finished. Not these gung ho young groupies. They were making sure Jesus' audience wasn't disappointed! "Hey, Jesus, you've got people out here who want to see a healing!"
If you read on in the gospels, it does appear that the disciples start to get an inkling but until the resurrection, I believe they vacillated between knowledge and denseness. And if these men who followed Jesus around for three years can suffer from cluelessness, then I figure my periodic bouts won't diminish my possible usefulness to the Kingdom. I feel better, don't you?
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Perspectives
It's Friday and we haven't had school since Monday. Massive amounts of snow are still piled up everywhere, streets are still snow covered and icy, and bitter cold temperatures are not helping the situation at all. After a week of sitting at home, I had to get out and run some errands so with my husband as my chauffeur, we made our way out of the neighborhood. As we're making our final stop at the pharmacy, it began to snow.
My first reaction was "You've got to be kidding me!" Then I looked up and watched as the snowflakes floated gently down. I suddenly saw the beauty of each perfect little crystal and a peacefulness washed over me. There was something so calming about the scene and I said to my husband, "It's so pretty!" Of course, his reaction was, "You've got to be kidding!" And because he was wearing his grumpy pants today (you know it's true, John, so don't roll your eyes), he proceeded to point out to me everything that was un-pretty about the falling of more snow.
I agree that the prospect of more snow is exactly what we don't need but even realizing all the additional problems this could cause did not negate the beauty of this softly falling precipitation. My husband was looking at the messiness of the world around us while I was looking up. I saw beauty, he saw ugliness. It occurred to me that the difference was our perspective. When I looked down, I too saw the possibility of car accidents, more snow days, and freezing pipes. But just by changing the angle of my line of sight, I could shut that all out and concentrate on the peaceful beauty of drifting snowflakes.
You're following along with me, aren't you? You know where I'm going, don't you? How easy it is for us to focus our attention on the messiness of the world around us--violence, unemployment, abortion, drugs, divorce. But when we change our perspective and look up, God's love, grace, and mercy can completely change our attitudes.
So, as the weatherman keeps predicting the probability of more winter weather, I'm going to try to keep looking up. How about you?
My first reaction was "You've got to be kidding me!" Then I looked up and watched as the snowflakes floated gently down. I suddenly saw the beauty of each perfect little crystal and a peacefulness washed over me. There was something so calming about the scene and I said to my husband, "It's so pretty!" Of course, his reaction was, "You've got to be kidding!" And because he was wearing his grumpy pants today (you know it's true, John, so don't roll your eyes), he proceeded to point out to me everything that was un-pretty about the falling of more snow.
I agree that the prospect of more snow is exactly what we don't need but even realizing all the additional problems this could cause did not negate the beauty of this softly falling precipitation. My husband was looking at the messiness of the world around us while I was looking up. I saw beauty, he saw ugliness. It occurred to me that the difference was our perspective. When I looked down, I too saw the possibility of car accidents, more snow days, and freezing pipes. But just by changing the angle of my line of sight, I could shut that all out and concentrate on the peaceful beauty of drifting snowflakes.
You're following along with me, aren't you? You know where I'm going, don't you? How easy it is for us to focus our attention on the messiness of the world around us--violence, unemployment, abortion, drugs, divorce. But when we change our perspective and look up, God's love, grace, and mercy can completely change our attitudes.
So, as the weatherman keeps predicting the probability of more winter weather, I'm going to try to keep looking up. How about you?
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