Mark 8-9

(May 10, 2015)

                In my youth, these chapters astounded me.  I couldn’t understand why the disciples asked the same question regarding the feeding of the multitude.  After all, they had just seen Christ perform this great miracle.  Here they were in nearly the exact same circumstances only a short time later, and once again they still had the very same doubts and concerns.

                As I have gotten older, and learned from the bumps and bruises of my own life, I have come to realize what was happening here.  So many times, I have been blessed by miracles in my life.  I do not doubt that these miracles were anything less than direct intervention of the Divine (indeed, there is truly no other explanation).  My problem, and my struggle and lack of faith, is not in knowing that the Lord can intervene, but rather in knowing whether He will intervene.

                The Lord can solve my problems the same way He could feed the multitude.  In the same way the disciples had seen Christ feed the multitude in the past, I had seen the Savior intercede in my life miraculously in the past.  But I still worry and doubt and struggle with my faith over the question whether He will intervene now the way He did before.  I can see the disciples here encountering similar fears and doubts.