April 27

Moments with God, April 27

Mark 4:39 (NKJV) 39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

After returning to college, my new advisor went over my transcript and made a list of the classes I needed for my teaching certificate. In some instances, I had a choice of classes; in other instances, I did not. I had to take a journalism class to earn my degree. Unfortunately, that class was not scheduled to be taught until the next year. After speaking with the professor who taught that class, he explained that he could hold the class if it were a zero-level course. That meant he could conduct the class any way he desired with no limit on the hours required. As part of the small group who needed that class, I agreed to that special condition. Once the class began, the professor said we had to work so many hours on the school newspaper. That requirement conflicted with my job at the soils testing lab. I explained my predicament to him, and he laughed. He said I had no choice. I either accepted his demands or he would either fail me or have me drop the class. I was going to complain to the head of department but changed my mind when I learned my professor was the head. I had no choice in the matter

When I read this verse recently, it dawned on me that the wind did not have a choice whether to obey Jesus’ command. The sea could not rebel and refuse His command. When Jesus told Lazarus to come out of the tomb, Lazarus had no choice either because he was dead. We, however, even though we are created in God’s image, have been given free will. We have the freedom to obey or not to obey Christ. True love always gives the one loved a choice. If not, love becomes a master that controls the other. I have heard some refuse to follow Jesus because of Jesus’s demands on our lives. However, because of His love for us, His commands are born in love. Following them will always bring us blessings and free us from bondage to the flesh and sin. His love also allows us to accept His commands or reject them. God gave Adam and Eve a choice. He was not tempting them to sin; His love for them was giving them a choice. Jesus wants us to choose to follow Him because of our love for Him. Doing so truly is the way to the abundant life.