October 6 – Matthew 8 and Mark 2: Seize the Opportunity

Today’s Tasting: Matthew 8; Mark 2

Matthew chapter 8 continues the telling of many miracle Jesus performed. He healed a leper, He healed the servant of the Roman officer, He drove the fever from Peter’s mother-in-law, He calmed the storms on the lake, and He drove the demons out of men and into a herd of pigs.

In Mark chapter 8, Jesus continues to perform miracles and teach. Mark’s telling of the miracles, also tells us how the religious leaders of the time responded to Jesus and His miracles, as well as His response to them. When he heals the paralyzed man by forgiving his sins, they considered it blasphemy because they did not believe He was God. When Jesus dined with the sinners, they questioned why He lowered himself if He truly were the Messiah. They accused the disciples of not being righteous because they were not fasting and were harvesting on the Sabbath.

One thing that stands out to me, that the writers portrayed throughout the Gospels, is the level of calm that Jesus maintained in everyday life. He is the Son of God performing miracle after miracle yet, He is questioned at every turn. His nature is to love and heal. Despite this, He takes each of these opportunities to coach and teach rather than lash out.

Think about the times in your life when you may have lashed out at someone. Did you miss an opportunity to love, coach and teach? Did you let your ego get in the way? Were you more concerned about being “right” instead of helping the person understand?

Throughout the Gospels, we may experience the examples of how Jesus seized His opportunity to love, coach, and teach His followers. He could have just as easily brought down lightening from the sky, while stating something along the lines of “I am the Son of God and you will listen to my commands.” And then, to follow up with a new list of do’s and don’ts.

Yet, He seized the opportunity to love, mentor, coach, guide, and teach with acts of patience. The next time you are tempted to lash out, seize the opportunity to allow the Holy Spirit to guide you through the situation, so that you too may approach it from a place of love and patience and possibly seize the opportunity to coach, teach, or guide.

Share how the Holy Spirit spoke to you through Today’s Nourishment in the comment section.