It's NOT gonna be a Bright, Sunshiney Day

Mark 4:35-41
Jesus Calms the Storm

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" (NIV)

We often fear in our lives. We often think that Jesus is sleeping, and is going to keep on sleeping while we drown. This anecdote is certainly there to support Jesus' claims of Deity, but for those of us who already have confessed that, it is more. It is a reminder that Christ really does have power. We acknowledge that he can change the weather, but we forget that he brought the storm in the first place. Let's ask ourselves, "Why is this storm here?" Perhaps there's a purpose for it. Instead of asking for God to simply take away our struggles, shouldn't we first ask what we're supposed to learn from it? I'm not saying if your sick, don't pray for healing, or if your boss is a jerk, don't pray for their attitude. I am saying that the prayer should not exclude requests for the strength to learn the lessons God has in the situation. Christ said "If there is any way, let this cup pass from me, but NOT MY WILL."

Two Parables on the Kingdom

Mark 4:26-33

He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come." Mark 4:26-29 (NIV)

This parable is often criticized and passed over because it's the only in Mark. Personally, I love it. It points out how little we know about the process of salvation in the lives of to other people. The seed is flung out there, and we don't see anything. On Friday, our church was wrapping up VBS, and I gave a gospel message. Not an invitation, specifically, but an invitation. I haven't heard of anyone who turned their life over to Christ because of that, but a few families were at church today. Maybe they just heard the beginning of the gospel, and it has to germinate for a few months. Maybe it's just the beginning of something, we don't know. The point is, if the gospel goes out, sometimes it takes a while before it really starts to grow. And once it does grow, sometimes it takes a little bit before it's really ready for fruit.

Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade." With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. Mark 4:30-34 (NIV)

Another misinterpreted parable, but this one has parallels in Matthew 13 and Luke 13. It seems to indicate the Kingdom as something that begins very small, but grows to enormous size. In retrospect, we can see that occurring even now. This movement, which began with no more than a few hundred followers, is now (broadly) the world's largest religion, and has impacted and changed culture around the world. I am not under the impression that those over 2 billion people who profess to embrace Christianity are going to heaven, far from it. But the point that the message, and the number of adherents, has grown exponentially is not to be taken lightly. And even more importantly, the day is coming when that tree will not just be the largest, but the only plant in the Garden. Because that is when we see the full measure of the Kingdom.
How encouraging this should have been to the disciples in those early days, and even to us today. When they were persecuted, and their numbers reduced through imprisonment and death, they could be comforted in the knowledge that eventually, the kingdom of God would supersede all earthly kingdoms, and become the eternal throne for the true King of Israel.