The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 6:19-20,
"When they [Jesus' disciples] had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. But he said to them, 'It is I; don't be afraid.'"
The miracle of Jesus walking on water in John's gospel comes just following the account of his feeding thousands with five small barley loaves and two small fish. Following the telling of the miracle of him walking on water, John provides the dialog Jesus had with his disciples where he foretold of his ascension into heaven, "Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before!" John 6:62. This was fulfilled in Acts 1:9-11, "After he [Jesus] said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.'" This event, of course took place following his resurrection from the dead.
Miracles. Many people struggle with the miraculous that we read of in the pages of Scripture. It may be helpful to point out the reason we call them miracles is because they don't happen every day. A miracle is something that takes place that violates the established laws of physics, etc. that govern the world we live in.
Our Creator established the physical laws of his creation to govern what he had made. Apart from these his handiwork would be incomplete and unable to function. However, when our God does anything, it is a work of perfection and the laws of physics govern our world (and the entire universe) in precisely that way. Because we live in this world governed by his design, there are things we do not expect to see, and when we do, we find it astonishing to the point where faith is required to deal with our perception of it, as well as our perspective on it.
Thousands cannot be fed to the full on five small barley loaves and two small fish. The human form cannot walk on water as God's law of specific gravity precludes it. A man cannot ascend up into clouds and on into another dimension called heaven as God's laws of gravity preclude it. Heaven itself is an issue of faith because our eyes here on earth cannot see it, hear it, sense it in any physical way.
The very nature of miracles requires an event that violates how our Creator has ordered his creation. However, the Creator himself is free to do whatever it is he wants, even if that means violating the very laws of his own creation while existing in human bodily form. Interestingly, John begins his gospel with the great statement of Jesus Christ, "the Word", the Son of God, as the Creator of all, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." John 1:1-3.
Jesus selected certain times and circumstances to reveal his glory as the Creator while he was here two millenia ago. He performed a limited number of miracles in a very measured way to establish for all just who he is. (As an aside, this will be an issue on judgment day for all who have rejected Jesus Christ as Lord.)
We should not fear the miraculous from our Creator. As we accept who Jesus Christ is, we might expect it. Everything about Jesus Christ is miraculous. God taking on human form, his virgin birth, his payment for our sins, everything about our Lord is miraculous!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
"When they [Jesus' disciples] had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. But he said to them, 'It is I; don't be afraid.'"
The miracle of Jesus walking on water in John's gospel comes just following the account of his feeding thousands with five small barley loaves and two small fish. Following the telling of the miracle of him walking on water, John provides the dialog Jesus had with his disciples where he foretold of his ascension into heaven, "Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before!" John 6:62. This was fulfilled in Acts 1:9-11, "After he [Jesus] said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.'" This event, of course took place following his resurrection from the dead.
Miracles. Many people struggle with the miraculous that we read of in the pages of Scripture. It may be helpful to point out the reason we call them miracles is because they don't happen every day. A miracle is something that takes place that violates the established laws of physics, etc. that govern the world we live in.
Our Creator established the physical laws of his creation to govern what he had made. Apart from these his handiwork would be incomplete and unable to function. However, when our God does anything, it is a work of perfection and the laws of physics govern our world (and the entire universe) in precisely that way. Because we live in this world governed by his design, there are things we do not expect to see, and when we do, we find it astonishing to the point where faith is required to deal with our perception of it, as well as our perspective on it.
Thousands cannot be fed to the full on five small barley loaves and two small fish. The human form cannot walk on water as God's law of specific gravity precludes it. A man cannot ascend up into clouds and on into another dimension called heaven as God's laws of gravity preclude it. Heaven itself is an issue of faith because our eyes here on earth cannot see it, hear it, sense it in any physical way.
The very nature of miracles requires an event that violates how our Creator has ordered his creation. However, the Creator himself is free to do whatever it is he wants, even if that means violating the very laws of his own creation while existing in human bodily form. Interestingly, John begins his gospel with the great statement of Jesus Christ, "the Word", the Son of God, as the Creator of all, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." John 1:1-3.
Jesus selected certain times and circumstances to reveal his glory as the Creator while he was here two millenia ago. He performed a limited number of miracles in a very measured way to establish for all just who he is. (As an aside, this will be an issue on judgment day for all who have rejected Jesus Christ as Lord.)
We should not fear the miraculous from our Creator. As we accept who Jesus Christ is, we might expect it. Everything about Jesus Christ is miraculous. God taking on human form, his virgin birth, his payment for our sins, everything about our Lord is miraculous!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment