Walking on Water

I've always lived near a body of water. A creek, a lake, a river, an inlet and even the ocean. And I love being out on the water, in a boat or sitting on a dock. I enjoy swimming but I prefer to be on the water without actually having to be in it. I even love just being near the water, watching the waves encroach on the shore or seeing how fast a river will carry away a log. Maybe that's why one of my favorite Bible stories when I was a kid was the account from when Peter walked on water. The full story is found in Matthew 14:22-33.

In verse 25-27 Jesus is walking on the water towards the boat his disciples are in. He tells them not to be afraid because it's Him, Jesus, their friend, their teacher, the one they've been following around the country side but what happens next is what I want to talk about today, starting in verse 28 and going through verse 31.

"'Lord, if it's you,' Peter replied, 'tell me to come to you on the water.'
'Come,' he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 'Lord, save me!'
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. 'You of little faith,' he said, 'why did you doubt?'"

There are so many incredible nuggets of wisdom in this short passage that I doubt that I could even begin to uncover them all but there's one specifically that caught my attention recently.

As I was talking about earlier I love watching the water. So there have been countless times in my life that I've thought about this story and wondered what it must have been like for Peter to walk on water.

I mean here's Peter in a boat with his friends and first Jesus appears, walking on water, coming towards them. This isn't like anything they've ever seen, heard of or dreamed before. I mean at least if Jesus was walking on water towards us we've got the account from when he did it last time! Is it any wonder that they were freaking out? But Peter doesn't let that fear stop him. He takes a chance on trusting God. 'Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water.'

To be honest, I'm not sure I'd be that brave! Go to Jesus on the water? Hmm... no thanks, the boat seems much safer, but I appreciate the offer! Still this is Peter, not me, we're talking about. And Jesus responds to his request with just one word. 'Come.'

So Peter doesn't even hesitate, he gets out of the boat and walks on water! On water! He's walking! He's not swimming or floating or hanging on for dear life to the side of the boat, he's walking on water! Can you imagine?

But that's not the cool part. I mean walking on water is great but is it any more amazing then any of the other miracles Jesus performed? He created the universe and the scientific laws that govern it, of course he can allow someone to break them when he wants!

Here's the really important part. Peter was walking on water towards Jesus. That's what matters. That he was going towards Jesus. That he was trusting Jesus. That when he began to doubt he reached out to Jesus. That's the point of this story!!! It doesn't matter whether you're walking on water or through a desert, it matters who you're walking towards! Because without Jesus being able to do something as cool as walking on water has no meaning! Nothing in this life has meaning because without Jesus it's all temporary. What we have today will be gone tomorrow and the one thing, the only thing, the only person that will still be there, that will never leave us, that will always stand by us and will always reach down to pull us out of the waves when we lose our faith and began to drown is Jesus.

That's what matters. Jesus. It's not about where you are or what you're doing. It's not even about walking on water. It's about who you're walking towards.