Nurture To Thrive
[This week the Gas Street Operations Team look at Jesus from the perspective of their own roles]
Jesus as the HR Manager by Mez Gauton
Matthew 8:23-27 (NIV)
Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’
He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
When I think of Jesus’ relationship with the disciples, part of me thinks it would have been amazing - and part of me thinks it would have been sooo challenging. The disciples were such a close-knit group of people and were following Jesus with basically an AAA (Access, All, Areas) pass to him and seeing all the incredible things he did and the wonderful person he was. But at the same time, they must have been massively challenged, probably felt uncomfortable on many occasions and were sometimes reprimanded. It wasn’t plain sailing being a disciple!
Imagine being in that boat, with Jesus asleep: you’re terrified the boat will capsize so you wake Jesus and he says, ‘You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’ Having been totally freaked out as Jesus calms the storm, the disciples must have gone through a roller coaster of emotions. Jesus loved the disciples dearly but wasn’t afraid to challenge them to bring out the best in them. And that’s true for us: Jesus loves us unconditionally but will sometimes pull us up and challenge us: ‘You of little faith, why did you worry about your finances’?’ Or ‘You of little faith why are you afraid of stepping out and taking that risk?’. But having challenged us, he doesn’t leave us to our own devices; we see in Matthew 8 that Jesus is there in the boat, with them.
The best people managers I have experienced are those who challenged me but still had my back and were there to support me when I needed it: they are the leaders with whom I have grown the most. The astonishing truth is that Jesus is like that with us: he has us in his hands, loves us, knows us and wants to bring the best out from us.
Prayer: Thank you Jesus that you love us as you loved your disciples and want to see us grow as they did. Give us faith to follow you and boldness to step out and accept your challenges.