When Peter sat in the boat that day, when the gears started clicking in his head & heart, he saw Jesus doing something that he thought was amazing & that maybe he’d wanted to do a hundred times before, but had counted it as impossible. When he saw Jesus walking effortlessly on top of the water, he knew he had to try it, too. After all, Jesus was his master, his teacher, his rabbi & any disciple worth their salt was going to do anything and everything to match up with anything and everything their master was doing…no matter what. His single-minded devotion was a hallmark of Peter’s wonderfully impulsive faith. He was always ready to speak up, even if it made no sense in the moment. He was always ready to jump in & swing his sword, even if it wasn’t what Jesus wanted or needed in that moment. And again, here in Matthew 14, we find that same faith at work when he steps out of the boat & comes to Jesus on the water. And this time…this time he has it right. He waits to see what his Master is doing & he imitates that exact action. So Jesus rewards his faith by calling him out onto the water.
Peter is always a great example to help us out with a little self-examination. He is often a reminder of what not to do & also what it does mean to have a childlike faith & I love him for it. And here’s why: no matter if he was right or wrong, Peter was always, always willing to act. And so many of us let fear, worry or doubt keep us from even experiencing the pathway of Jesus, and His blessing in our lives. It doesn’t mean that we need to fling ourselves over every wall of faith without counting the cost. Jesus warns against living in a way where you do no count the cost of you actions & motivations.
But it does mean that we at least look, we at least try. We ask tough questions, ew get our hands dirty & we make it a way of life, not just something we do when we’re in the middle of an event with our church family. It becomes our credo, our life’s motto. “If Jesus calls me to it, then I will do it.” It’s a heart-song of obedience, willingness & trust. We can never doubt Peter’s trust for Jesus. We can never look at a moment in his life, with the exception of that night of Jesus’ arrest, and wonder if Peter really was sold out for Jesus. Trust meant action. Love meant following through. Faith meant doing something about it…and so Peter did those things.
And why?
Because Jesus took the time to invest in Peter. He lifted him out of a place that he had likely resigned himself to, somewhere comfortable, somewhere familiar & lifted him up to. Whole new way of life & thinking about life. I often wonder if Peter wasn’t terribly disappointed when he didn’t make the cut to move up in Synagogue school, when he turned 12 and the passed him back to his dad to pick up the family trade rather than being recruited to follow the local rabbi & become a ‘true’ disciple. I think there was a longing for more in Peter’s heart & that he had resigned himself to never getting to see that played out. His life was good, but it was coupled with a lingering doubt & disappointment that tainted how he saw himself & what value he placed on his own life.
And when Jesus came up to him, called him to follow & then clapped him on the shoulder as they walked over to Zebedee & Sons Fishing next door, if Peter’s heart wasn’t about to explode inside his chest. And his whispered dreams, his childhood desires, didn’t start to unfold before him right then and there.
Now, I may be totally off base & only by meeting Peter on the other side will I ever really find out. But that’s my guess, and I’m sticking to it.
So, love & appreciation drove Peter. It propelled him forward in faith & it led him to the place where he was going to hung-ho follow Jesus to any place and through any situation. Those who are forgiven much, love much & those who have been redeemed from what they felt was maybe a hopeless situation find their own love overflowing as well.
Let’s love Jesus well today. Let’s move in faith with the Holy Spirit. Let’s glorify the Father with our choices & see if he doesn’t do something in our lives like He did with Peter’s. My guess is, he will. It just takes that step out…
“And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.””
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