Can You Hear Me Now?
Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. Mark 4:1 NIV
“You won’t believe what happened,” my husband remarked, and then we lost the connection. I was out of town at a writer’s conference trying to call home to get the latest updates on my family. Immediately, I dialed the familiar number again and waited for my spouse to answer. “Can you hear me now?” I mimicked the popular cell service commercial. “Barely,” he replied. So I walked all around the room repeating, “Can you hear me now? How about now? Can you hear me now?”
Away from home, I wanted to be heard. Jesus wanted to be heard as well. In Mark chapter four, we find him teaching by the lake. When the crowd got so big, Jesus launched a boat into the water and began preaching from there. The people lined up along the shore to listen. Scholars have commented the acoustics across the water made it possible for Christ to be heard by so many.
As Christian writers, we want our words to be heard, as well. How can one person speak to the masses? Well, we could stand in a boat on a lake and preach; although, I’m not sure people would gather on the shore to hear. Or we can write. We can write so that others will know Christ. We can write so that others are inspired to live a life more abundantly for Him. We can write of our love for a risen Savior.
So, now I only have one question.
Can you hear me now?