Would you go on a really long journey just to see one person for a few minutes and then turn around and come back?
Jesus did.
Jesus and his disciples crossed a lake and as soon as Jesus stepped out of the boat a man possessed by demons ran up to him. Jesus set the man free and then he and his disciples got back in the boat and went back to where they started (Mark 4.35-5.21).
Would you travel a long way to meet one person briefly? I guess it depends on how much you cared for or wanted to see or to help that person or whether you knew that you would make a difference.
Jesus is willing to cover a large distance to help someone find freedom.
Jesus also covered the distance to help his disciples grow.
On the first crossing there had been a storm and the disciples had thought they were going to drown. The demons that were in the man gave him strength that meant he could snap chains and they also drove him to self harm. This was a man that you didn’t want to meet down a dark alley, he was a person of whom people were afraid. The disciples had been terrified on this trip but they had also seen the power of God as Jesus had stopped the storm and sent the demons out of the man. The disciples had been sacred, but they had also seen how much more powerful Jesus was than any terror that they faced.
I wonder if the disciples looked back on this later as a trip they would have like to have avoided or as a trip that changed their life?
When life has been tough, we can look back and wish those things had never happened.
When we feel like we have had a wasted journey or that we are going around in circles we can feel frustrated.
In these times of upset, stress, and regret I hope that we can remember that Jesus is with us on the journey.
Having Jesus with us is so much more important than where we are or what we are going through but our focus is often on our circumstances rather that the Christ who is with us.
You can read more about the storm in Facing the storms and stresses of life.
Honest about my faith 