February 2 Krum Star Article
"I Wonder How Their Wives Felt"
I wonder how their
wives felt. There is this story in the Bible
about a group of fisherman who had had this fabulous night
of fishing—so many fish were caught that the boats
were about to sink—and then they leave it all and
follow Jesus. Boats, nets, means of livelihood—all
of it left behind. How DID their wives feel about this?
Think about it: the generally
bad luck of a few poor fishermen had finally changed.
Life had always been hard for them, with long nights out
on the lake, treacherous weather patterns, frequent loss
of life, the economic survival of the family depending
on the vagaries and luck along with their fishing skills.
Finally their ship, to coin a phrase, comes in with this
stupendous catch. And they leave it all behind to follow
an itinerant preacher with questionable parentage; a man
who preaches a message that pleases a few and disturbs
many; a man who apparently doesn’t have a penny
to call his own.
How DID their wives
feel about this? Personally, I would suggest
a few words like: furious, outraged, astounded, dismayed,
frustrated, angry, disappointed, shocked and wrathful.
And they may have had a few other choice words of their
own, not to be printed in the newspaper, to toss at their
apparently crazy husbands. Any possible security that
they had hoped for just disappeared for the sake of a
compelling message that captured these men. The Bible
doesn’t tell us what kinds of marital adjustments
followed these decisions, but I can bet they were pretty
major.
Anyone who is looking for security
by means of either plenty of money or unchanging life
conditions will always be thrown off-balance when the
highly unexpected comes. As most of us know, there just
aren’t real certainties in this world. Who knows
when the automobile accident might happen, or the diagnosis
of a difficult disease is presented to us? Or when economies
change and businesses close and secure employment is lost,
possibly forever?
On Christmas Eve, my brother’s
wife suffered a major stroke. I'm taking a quick trip
to California this week to see how the extended family
here can assist them as their lives take this completely
unexpected—and unwelcome—change. Normal patterns
of living are simply gone forever. Some hoped for financial
cushion in retirement is about to disappear under the
weight of 24/7 caregivers. I’m betting my brother,
had he been asked in advance, would have loved to say
to his wife as she prepared to take her unexpected journey
into life after a major stroke, “No way, baby. You
are NOT going on this trip.” But she did, and now
he also gets to experience the aftermath, just as the
wives of those first ones to follow Jesus got to experience
the aftermath of the world they knew being turned upside
down.
The message of Jesus is upsetting—it’s
full of things like, “Love your enemies” and
know that you are blessed when you are poor and mourn
and are persecuted. Definitely upside down from the predominant
message of success drummed into our ears.
Yet the message of Jesus remains
compelling—“follow me,” Jesus says.
Give up everything, let your circumstantial certainties
go, and enter into the adventure of a life that really
counts for something. That’s what those fishermen
heard so long ago. What would happen if we heard it today?
I’m betting it would change our lives forever as
well.
We’ll talk about it more
on Sunday, 8:15 and 11:00 a.m. services.
