A Different Way To Care

A Different Way to Care

Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown? Mark 4:38

THE DISCIPLES WERE EXTREMELY BOTHERED by the storm that threatened to overwhelm their small boat. And the longer Jesus slept, the more they were bothered by him, as well. After all, it looked like he didn’t care about the catastrophe. His peace made him appear irresponsible. He wasn’t doing anything to help; he was just being passive. Everyone else seemed to understand the call to action, but Jesus remained motionless.

That’s often how it is in the life of faith. The emotions that come from our trust in God—peace, joy, relief, rest, contentment—can make us look irresponsible. Our peace can actually provoke conflict. When we don’t get as stirred into a panic as the people around us do, we appear unconcerned. When we don’t jump into action at every perceived threat, we seem inactive in a time of need. People think the calmness we have comes not from faith but from a cold heart. We are accused of not caring.

The truth of the matter is that we care a lot, but we’ve turned our cares over to God and trust him to intervene. We do want to be responsible, and we’ll do whatever we can to help. But ultimately, the responsibility is on God, and we have to believe him even when others are pressing us to act out of stress, fear, and panic. We trust that he is working out all things for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28) and has solutions for every problem we face. We learn to recognize that most people’s sense of urgency does not line up with his priorities. Jesus rarely reacted to human urgencies and never panicked. As those being conformed to his image, that should be our outlook too. That does not mean we are to be lazy or irresponsible. It does mean, however, that our approach to life is not driven by fear or weighed down by heavy burdens and overwhelming demands. Our care, concern, and compassion are clothed in trust and fully at rest in the one who cares for every detail of our lives.

Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.