When I left the University on Monday, I noticed an ominous-looking cloud in the sky. Although it was beautiful in the evening sky, it looked like it was bulging with all types of precipitation and mayhem. While sitting in a coffee shop yesterday, I learned that I was not the only one who noticed this cloud. These college-aged kids could not stop talking about it. They called it "The cloud that brought Zeus." Whenever there was a lull in the conversation, someone would say “how about that cloud yesterday” and everyone else would say “yeah dude, that was awesome.”
Personally, it made me remember my younger years when my family lived on a hill so that every spring we could see the bulging thunderhead clouds coming over the horizon. Usually, seeing a cloud this massive would signify a coming storm. Unfortunately for the dying plants of central Texas, Monday’s cloud did not bring any rain to our area. It did supply us with a brief sense of joy and a bunch of facebook status updates.
In Matthew 8, the author describes how some clouds appeared that did bring about rain and wind. Even though Jesus and the disciples were in a boat, which is generally not where you would want to be during a storm, Jesus went to sleep. It seems that all of the men on the boat thought that their situation was dire, except for Jesus. When the disciples woke him, Jesus rebuked the storm and calmed the sea.
Some people interpret Jesus’ sleeping as a sign of his ability to feel at peace in tough circumstances. Although that is true, may be Jesus also knew that this storm simply was not that bad. He may have known that the boat was strong enough and the sailors were capable. In the end, may be Jesus knew how his life was going to end, but it was not from drowning in a rainstorm.
May be we need to learn to see a cloud as a cloud. When our situations ominously tower above us, covering our view, we should try to take a step out and consider that things might appear worse than they are.
No comments:
Post a Comment