Ordinary People

As evening fell, Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's cross to the other side of the lake." So they took him just as he was and started out, leaving the crowds behind (though other boats followed). But soon a terrible storm arose. High waves began to break into the boat until it was nearly full of water and about to sink. Jesus was asleep at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. Frantically they wakened him, shouting, "teacher, don't you even care that we are all about to drown?"

Then he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Quiet down!" And the wind fell, and there was a great calm!

And he asked them, "Why were you so fearful? Don't you even yet have confidence in me?"

And they were filled with awe and said among themselves, "Who is this man, that even the winds and seas obey him?"

Mark 4:35-41 (TLB)

But to all who received him, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12 (TLB)

Ken Claar, from Idaho, wasn't raised in a Christian home, so he first learned about the Bible through Christian comics. David and Goliath, Noah and the ark, Jonah and the fish - these men were all superheroes to Ken. Later, as a young adult in the military service, Ken started attending chapel where he heard some strange new things that changed his perspective. David sinned. Noah got drunk, Jonah defied God's call. Ken has come to believe that the Bible is a true story of God's power and love manifested through ordinary people.

Ken can relate to the stories of so many of the ordinary people in the Bible. He has been on a ship at sea during a typhoon, so he can identify with the fright of the fishermen in today's scripture who thought their boat was sinking while Jesus slept. Ken can relate to Peter who sometimes spoke without thinking. (See Matthew 16:21-28 and 26:31-35, 69-75.) And Ken can relate to the people who were unable to believe the good news when Mary Magdalene told them Jesus was alive, (Mark 16:10-11).

The Bible is filled with ordinary people who were empowered by God to believe and to live new lives. Even Jesus came into our world as an ordinary man. We don't have to be superheroes to be part of God's family. We need only to believe and to follow the path God has set for us.

Prayer: Dear God, help us always to remember that all the superheroes in the Bible are ordinary people chosen by you. Choose us this day, in Jesus' name. Amen.