“Got Faith?”
 
Jesus was exhausted after hours of ministry. On the ride across the lake Jesus curled up for a nap in the small boat. A ferocious storm struck that water craft. Jesus snoozed in perfect peace. The disciples panicked, fearing their lives.  Finally, the disciples were able to rouse Jesus from his slumber. He asks the first of two very important questions: “Where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25a)

Jesus often raises that question. He is amazed at how difficult it is for his followers to believe. He wonders if when he returns he will find faith. We only need a mustard seed sized faith to move mountains, so why is it so difficult? It is one thing to trust the promise of salvation, but it seems it is often more difficult to trust God in the struggles of life.

A second question gets at the issue of the lack of faith. The disciples are the ones who pose this question after Jesus calms the storm:  “Who is this?” (Luke 8:25b) What we think of Jesus will encourage or discourage faith. As Jesus commanded the storm to cease, he demonstrated the power of God. God is great! He is able to do far above what we can imagine. Reading the scriptures forms a more accurate picture in our heart of the power of God. So one answer to the question is God is all powerful.

There is another answer that is needed. Suppose God was all powerful but didn't care about using that power to help us in our real needs. Or even worse he delighted in using his power to torment us. Jesus’ ministry cleared up any fears about God’s compassion. Multiple times the Gospel writers observe that Jesus reached out to heal because of his compassion.

Will Jesus ask of you, “Where is your faith?” Let’s seek to discover more about the power and compassion of Jesus. Let faith arise in our hearts!

As the American proverb states: “We can't see the forest because of the trees.” In Bible study we often focus on one passage at a time. It does us well to step back and look at the bigger picture. Did you know that at least 13 times in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus carefully distinguished between real followers and the merely religious? Obviously, he wants us to be very sure that we are truly following Him.

Scott McKnight writes in his book, One Life: “This seems so obvious, but just listen to many in churches today who think following Jesus is an option or the dessert or what only the fanatics manage to accomplish…Those who aren’t following Jesus aren’t his followers. It’s that simple. Followers follow, and those who don’t follow Jesus aren’t followers.”

In Luke 6:43-49 Jesus describes two houses. One is built on the rock and the other on the sand. They represent the differences between real followers and those who don’t really follow him. Both groups hear the word, but the ones built on the rock also obey what Jesus commanded. Obedience to Jesus is the crucial mark of a real follower.

Since this is true we need to diligently learn what Jesus teaches and commands his disciples. We must be careful to pursue a correct understanding of Jesus’ words. It is easy to read in or miss the meaning of scripture because of our culture or experience. One area that clashes with our culture is Jesus’ teachings on wealth, for example. So we need to be careful to really hear and obey Jesus’ words on money. A humble and teachable heart makes all the difference. Let’s get real!