Boat by the Sea

Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. Mark 4:1-2
A common sight in the sky above beaches these days are small bi-planes pulling signs advertising one restaurant or another, sometimes a car dealership, and sometimes a type of drink or bank. I always have wondered how effective these ads really are. And yet I know I pay close attention, as the old planes dip close to the beach carrying their signs. The old crop duster are now employed in getting people to spend their money.

I have often wondered also, how effective it was for Jesus to be out on a boat, speaking to a huge crowd. Were people able to hear him, and did his words get to them completely. My experience of a sea is a noisy one, with waves crashing loudly, covering all but the loudest loud mouth. And yet maybe the sea that Jesus and his disciples moored on was more gentle and less noisy, than the Atlantic. Maybe too, people strained to hear and listened carefully. Either way, then or now, there is often a lot of noise and a lot of distractions that get in the way of us hearing God's word.

Today I want to practice listening. There is much to hear and see and I would hear what God would have me. It is so easy to get caught up in the distractions of life and not hear and see the love right on our doorsteps. May we recognize that God is making a daily dramatic effort to reach us, through stories and the people in our lives. May we all lean in so that we can hear God, who so much wants us to hear and experience the love that is in our lives.