There are times when we face the terror of mother nature head on, and we realize that we really have no chance. Maybe it’s a hurricane or maybe a flood... or maybe it’s just when we find ourselves in a bad situation. I had that happen at least once in my life. I jumped off a cliff into the mighty Nile River on a rafting trip one time. We were not in the rapids where the white water churns, we were off to the side in the calm water. It was supposed to be safe so we had taken off our life jackets to dive into the river. I jumped in feet first and plunged deep into the water. Going in was no problem, but coming up was. I found myself stuck in the undertow, first for just a second or two, then longer and longer as I struggled with all my might to get to the surface. I am not sure how long it lasted... 15-20 seconds. But it was long enough that I began to think that I was going to drown that day. I remember thinking, "I can't believe this. This is how I am going to die; I am going to drown." Suddenly I broke free and shot to the surface.
In Luke 8:22 we see that the disciples were in a similar situation. They were in a small boat on a rough sea, and they could see they were not going to make it. They had come face to face with mother nature, and they knew they were about to lose to the mighty forces of the sea. "We are going to drown!" they yelled.
People who doubt our faith in an all powerful God say we are just deluding ourselves. They would say that when humanity comes face to face with nature and needs to believe there is some rhyme or reason to it all, people invent a god, who they can pretend has power over all the scary and terrible things in nature. They say men invent a god who might be sympathetic to them.
Apparently these people have not read Luke chapter 8 because these disciples come face to face with nature, and they are afraid. Yet at the very next moment they come face to face with God himself and rather than feel comfort and peace they are filled with more fear and amazement. If the atheists’ theory about man creating god for a sense of safety is correct, then this little scenario we have is very strange indeed.
Luke 8 has a couple more stories we will look at today that show people who are afraid of Jesus and his power. As we read them, we see that rather than man inventing God to subdue his fears, perhaps man has invented atheism to avoid having to deal with a god who is as powerful and awe inspiring as the Christ we serve.
In Luke 8:22 we see that the disciples were in a similar situation. They were in a small boat on a rough sea, and they could see they were not going to make it. They had come face to face with mother nature, and they knew they were about to lose to the mighty forces of the sea. "We are going to drown!" they yelled.
People who doubt our faith in an all powerful God say we are just deluding ourselves. They would say that when humanity comes face to face with nature and needs to believe there is some rhyme or reason to it all, people invent a god, who they can pretend has power over all the scary and terrible things in nature. They say men invent a god who might be sympathetic to them.
Apparently these people have not read Luke chapter 8 because these disciples come face to face with nature, and they are afraid. Yet at the very next moment they come face to face with God himself and rather than feel comfort and peace they are filled with more fear and amazement. If the atheists’ theory about man creating god for a sense of safety is correct, then this little scenario we have is very strange indeed.
Luke 8 has a couple more stories we will look at today that show people who are afraid of Jesus and his power. As we read them, we see that rather than man inventing God to subdue his fears, perhaps man has invented atheism to avoid having to deal with a god who is as powerful and awe inspiring as the Christ we serve.
Mark
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