Now it came to pass on a certain day, that He went into a ship with His disciples: and He said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. Luke 8:22
A Grade 9 teacher informed his students one morning that they were going on a small outing to the waterfront, that would take most of the day. The students set out with him, not knowing where they were going, most of them assuming it was just going to be a nature class at a beach. But instead of directing the class to a beach, the teacher took the class to a large warehouse near the wharves. During the night, a ship had come in filled with passengers from another ship that had sunk during a storm. The passengers were all migrants fleeing from violence and repression in their home country. The teacher informed the Red Cross organizers at the warehouse that his class was there to help. For the rest of the day, the students helped to distribute food and blankets to the poor folks who had been rescued. They assisted with dozens of tasks, and spent time visiting and comforting the people, and sharing their lunches with them. By the time they were ready to leave, all of the students declared that the day’s activities had made a permanent mark on their lives. They were like the disciples in our text who headed out onto the lake at the Lord’s command.
There was no way that the disciples could know the dramatic events that were about to occur. Crossing the lake was a fairly routine event for them, especially the seasoned fishermen among them. For them, following a directive from their Lord was all that mattered, and they simply set forth, confident that everything would be OK. Had they not gone, they would have missed out on a dramatic event that would change their lives and forever cement in their hearts the conviction that their meek and lowly Master was none other than the Almighty. If they had known about the pending storm, they might have hesitated, or argued against the venture. But, not knowing, they launched forth. And they were forever changed. Simple obedience can do that for us as well.
Sometimes you and I face big decisions and huge conflicts in our Christian experience. But most of the time, our marching orders from the Lord are straightforward. We are called to follow Him. We are called to be like Him. We are called to serve Him. The Scriptures teach us how we ought to conduct ourselves in our behaviour toward those around us. They also guide us into truth that will help us to be good witnesses toward the world and good edifiers of the Lord’s people. We are not called upon to figure out what will happen if we obey the Word, we are simply asked to obey. The results of our obedience are not up to us, and we may well be in for some surprises. If so, those surprises will be for our good.
Launch out in obedience today. Our Lord is with us. – Jim MacIntosh