Through the Lens of a Dad

This morning before I read Luke 5:1-11 I heard the question, “What is Jesus doing in this passage?” repeated in my mind. So I made an effort to answer the question as I read the passage. The first thing that struck me about what Jesus was doing was that he was “standing by the lake.” Amidst the crowd which was pressing in on him, wanting something from him, and the stress the situation presented, Jesus was standing that morning by the lake of Gennesaret breathing in the morning air.

The second thing Jesus was doing was “seeing” – He saw the used fishing boat that Peter and his coworkers were in earlier that morning. Jesus was observing and scanning the whole area until his eyes rested on those two boats. Jesus’ posture was in stark contrast with what was going on around him. The crowd was causing a busy, stirring, and possibly noisy environment but Jesus just simply stood and observed the whole place.

And the third thing that stuck out to me was that Jesus “sat down.” After he got into the boat, he sat and began to teach the people. As the scene unfolded I pictured Jesus taking his time, not rushing, moving deliberately (and not hurriedly), and then sitting to be with people he loved to do what he loved to do.

Standing, seeing and sitting in a posture of peace was what Jesus did before he began teaching, before he challenged his future disciples. In that crowded circle of people, Jesus managed to find some space to stand apart and look out into the lake. And when the time was right he sat back down with people and taught.

The first four verses teaches to take such a posture. In the midst of busyness, hurried situations, and a “crowd” who wants to grab at me and take from me, I need to learn to stand and look out into the lake. I need to slow down and look around. And when the time is right to sit back down with people I love and to be with them. As I think about the day ahead I can hear my 22-month old crying, wanting food or my attention; I can feel the need to make “to-do” lists and the pressure of accomplishing it; I can imagine the number of emails I have to return. And as I think of the potentially crazy day ahead, I see Jesus taking postures of peace and am reminded to imitate those postures.

Thanks for reading.

Joe

I was reading Luke 4:38-44 tonight because I couldn’t sleep. As I was reading it, I immediately placed myself in the position of the Healer, as Jesus was healing. I thought that was the application God had for me. But seconds later, I was gently nudged to think a different thought – what if Jesus stayed the “Healer,” instead of me, and I was one of those He healed? When placed in that positioned, I thought of the different ways my life needed healing.

My sister and her family were visiting us the last week or so. One night my wife, my sister and my brother-in-law were reminiscing about our childhoods and the way we were disciplined. I began realizing that some of my bad habits and the negative ways in which I discipline my daughter are as a result of my lack of healing in areas of my life. Mind you, my mom did as good of a job as she could raising my siblings and I, and she tried to explain the reasons we were being punished as best she could also. But those times of correction were almost always accompanied by raised voices. And those voices often drowned out the explanations, not to mention caused me some hurt and set in motion a pattern of behavior from which I need to be healed.

Today, as a parent, I am wrestling with myself and my own “raised voice” at my daughter. I am realizing that I yell too much, which is often times the wrong approach to correcting her. Both my sister and my wife suggested I calmly and gently talk to my daughter and explain to her what she’s doing and what kind of effect it will have on her and everyone around her. This, they told me, will go a lot further than immediately hitting the internal “YELL” button when my daughter does something wrong.

But this is no easy task for me. And it will take the true “Healer” to correct this part of my life. I hope to someday change but I know it will take some time, many miles of mistakes, and tons of conversations with Jesus, but I do hope to get there. I want some day to have a strong line of communication between me and my daughter. And that line of communication is only strengthened when the “raised voices” are quieted.

Thanks for reading.

Joe