October 27

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And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, ‘Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!’ Mark 4:41

Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. Luke 5:3

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🔊 Of all the attributes of Jesus Christ, His authority is the most awesome.  He commanded the storms to be still; He rebuked a legion of demons (a Roman legion numbered between 2 and 3 thousand).  He sits on the throne of the universe, having conquered Satan, sin and death.  He is Lord of all and possesses almighty power.  Yet Jesus “asked” Simon Peter to put his boat out.  This mighty conqueror does not command the human race, but invites us, and even asks our permission.  We see in Jesus God’s true nature – the union of majestic authority with total humility.  There is a deep respect in God’s heart for the human will – He will not violate our wills, or dominate us in any bullying way.  This is at once both wonderful and fearful, since many people might like Him to overrule their wills.  But this would be taking away the very faculty in us that He seeks to win, not to override.  Though Christ is God, yet He seeks our fellowship, not the mere extension of His kingdom.  The Kingdom of God is above all a kingdom of love, and while awesome power and authority are at work to protect this kingdom, yet within it there must be willing submission and surrender to the will of the King.  The worst thing a human being could ever get is their own way.  But God will still not cancel our own thinking, moral power.  We can pretend not to hear God, or simply refuse to do what He has said, but we cannot escape the fact that we are responsible to allow Him to help Himself to our lives and our possessions.