Luke’s account of “Jesus Stills the Storm” phrases the question Jesus asks His disciples differently than Mark’s Gospel. Luke quotes Jesus as asking: “Where is your faith?” Timothy Keller (King’s Cross) loves the translation in Luke because it emphasizes that Jesus is prompting His disciples “to see that the critical factor in their faith is not its strength, but its object.”
Pastor Keller asks us to imaging that you’re falling off a cliff. Sticking out of that cliff is a branch strong enough to hold you- but you don’t know that. In order to grab that branch, must you have total faith in that branch to save you? Of course not, says the author. You only need enough faith to grab the branch. Pastor Keller explains:
“That’s because it’s not the quality of your faith that saves you, it’s the object of your faith. It doesn’t matter how you feel about the branch; all that matters is the branch. And Jesus is the branch.”
Ultimately, the author concludes, faith is not a virtue- it is a gift. Even though adversity may have sapped our faith, we need just enough faith to grab hold of Jesus.
