Jesus’ Radical Act of Love from Mat. 8: 28-34

From Mat. 8: 28-34

Jesus fell asleep in a boat with his disciples, and kept on sleeping during a storm.  That was his radical act of love!  To sleep while a storm was raging.  Once awakened by his panicking disciples, Jesus chided them, “You are such faint hearts, such cowards!  Where is your faith?” Then he calmed the storm, meeting the men’s immediate need to get out of danger. This whole interaction left the disciples wondering aloud, “What kind of a man is this?”

The result of this act of love was two-fold:  Jesus slept, apparently not caring that the men perish, letting them struggle with the storm both around them and within their hearts.

Then Jesus performed the miracle of calming the storm, throwing them into a state of amazement.   The miracle propelled the disciples to dig deeper into their minds and answer, “Who indeed is this man?”

The application is to remember that Jesus may sleep through a storm in your life FOR THE PURPOSE of your spiritual growth. Storms may rage causing you to have to struggle with the question: “where is my faith?”  In his love, as he withholds action for a time, he is challenging you to confront your faint-heartedness.   And then, only after you have had to face the wind and the waves, Jesus acts on your behalf.  As he calms the storm, Jesus leaves you amazed and awestruck  in his great love for you.