Today’s Passage: Luke 8:22-56

A storm, a demon-possessed man, a woman long-suffering, and a dying daughter—and you think your last few days have been challenging.

I am not trying to be flip. Instead I am trying to put myself in the shoes of Jesus. What is an average day, an average week, like for him?

It is full of other people’s crises and anguish. In each episode, we could reflect on how Jesus deals with the situation. We could reflect on how the people interact with Jesus. And we should, we should study the Scriptures, for there is much to learn and apply to our own lives.

Today however, I am struck by the singular confidence and focus of Jesus. I am not here to suggest that you and I can run around thinking we are Jesus, act this way, and expect the same results. We are not God.

However, let’s reflect. What parts of Jesus’ behavior can we emulate? First, he is not flustered by all that is thrown at him. Not storms, not demon-possessed men, not seriously ill people. In all situations, he does what he is able to do. In his case, he can do quite a bit, but that is not my point.

My point begins by asking, why doesn’t he get flustered? Is it because as a fully-divine person walking around the earth, he knows he is God? Or is it because as a fully-human person he knows he is connected to God the Father, and that it is doing the Father’s will, which is most important?

I think it is the latter. His focus is not on himself, it is on being obedient to his Father. There will come a point a later in Luke when we will see the personal weight of that focus. For today I am left challenged.

Do I let myself off the hook with doing the Father’s will because I am not Jesus? Or, do I challenge myself to obey him because he loves me? How about you?