Jesus offers us a way through the storm
FOOD FOR THOUGHT by Rev Andrew Barrie, minister of Pulteneytown and Thrumster Church
It seems to me there have been a lot of storms this winter. As I think about the blowing winds, I’m reminded of something that happened when I first moved to Caithness. My wife loves photography and during one of the storms we went to get a shot of the waves crashing over the Trinkie.
At first we admired them from afar. But then, one got really close and for a split second Susan thought it was going to reach her. In that split second, her perspective had to change. She went from being a calm observer to trembling. And she had to move.
In the bible, there’s an account where Jesus' disciples face a storm and their perspective changes too. It was so bad even hardened fishermen cried out to Jesus for help. But then something happened that left them even more deeply afraid, that they were speechless. Jesus spoke, and the storm calmed.
Like Susan and the waves, the disciples were seeing that Jesus is not just someone that you can calmly observe. He is much greater than a religious figure or guru. When you see the reality that he is God come to earth, to save us from the greater storm of his coming judgement, it shakes us to the core, even terrifies us. In light of that, our perspective should change.
However, it's the opposite of the wave. Susan had to run from the wave to get safety. But Jesus invites us to turn to Him to find love, forgiveness and protection from the storm to come.