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But only Peter knew two other things as well. Only Peter knew the glory of
walking on the water. He alone knew what it was to attempt to do something
that he was not capable of doing and then experiencing the empowerment of God
that enabled him to walk on the water. Once you walk on the water, you never
forget it - not for the rest of your life. Only Peter knew the glory of being
lifted up by Jesus in a moment of desperate need. Peter knew, in a way the
others could not, he alone had a shared moment, a shared connection, a shared
trust in Jesus that none of the others had. They couldn't because they didn't
even get out of the boat. The worst failure is not to sink in the waves. The
worst failure is to never get out of the boat.
As soon as Peter asked for help, Jesus is there. He helped Peter physically by
pulling him from the water
v31.
But he also helped Peter grow by pinpointing
the problem: "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" I don't think Jesus is
being harsh or critical here. In fact, one detail which we should not overlook
is that Jesus makes this comment to Peter when they are alone on the water.
The text says it is only after this comment that they got into the boat. It
may be that Jesus - like any good mentor - did not want to embarrass Peter in
front of the other disciples. So in the privacy and safety of Jesus' strong
right hand, he gently helps Peter locate the source of his problem. The
problem was quite clear: Whether Peter sank or walked on the water depended on
whether he focused on the storm or on Jesus. But now he understood his
dependence on faith much more deeply than he would have if he stayed in the so-
called safety of the boat. It was his willingness to risk failure that helped
him to grow.
Even more than we hate to fail, we hate other people seeing us fail. If we had
been in Peter's shoes we might have been tempted to try and cover up what
happened, say we slipped! Because Peter put himself in a position to fail, he
also put himself in a position to grow. Failure is an indispensable part of
learning and growth. Here is the principle involved: Failure does not shape
you; the way you respond to failure shapes you.
Sir Edmund Hillary made several unsuccessful attempts at scaling Mount Everest
before he finally succeeded. After one attempt he stood at the base of the
giant mountain and shook his first at it. "I'll defeat you yet, because you're
as big as you're going to get - but I'm still growing". Every time Hillary
climbed, he failed. And every time he failed, he learned, and every time he
learned, he grew and tried again. And one day he didn't fail.
Jesus is still looking for people who will get out of the boat. Why risk it?
I believe there are many reasons:
It is the only way to real growth. It is the way true faith develops. It is
the alternative to boredom and stagnation that causes people to wither up and
die spiritually. It is part of discovering and obeying our calling. I believe
there are many good reasons to get out of the boat. But there is one that tops
them all: The water is where Jesus is. The water may be dark and dangerous,
but it is where Jesus is, he is not in the boat. The main reason Peter got out
of the boat is that he wanted to be where Jesus was. Matthew keeps referring
to this reality. Peter's request
v28,
"Lord, if it's you, command me to come to
you." Then
v29,
Peter got out of the boat "and came towards Jesus." Because
Peter did this, both he and his friends came to a deeper understanding of Jesus
than ever before. They understood that the One in their boat was the One alone
who treads the waves of the seas - and they worship him
v33.
How about us? When was the last time we got out of the boat? I believe that
God's general method for growing a deep, adventuresome faith in us is by asking
us to get out of our boats. More than hearing a great talk, or reading a great
book, God uses real-life challenges to develop our ability to trust in him.
Then Jesus "passes by us" (see
Mark 6 v48) as we look at last time, Jesus is
not walking on the water for the sheer fun of it but does so to reveal his
glory. And when we see that Jesus is not so much in our boat but out there,
just by his presence he invites us to join him. The call to get out of our
boats will involve risk and, opportunity, often failure, generally fear, always
the calling to a task too big for us. But there is no other way to grow in
faith.
But the Lord is passing by! Jesus is still looking for people who will get out
of the boat and do what he is doing. I don't know what this means for you. If
you get out of your boat - whatever your boat happens to be - you will have
problems. There is a storm out there, and your faith will not be perfect. Risk
always holds the possibility of failure.
But if we get out, I believe two things will happen. The first is that when we
fail - and we will fail sometimes - Jesus will be there to pick us up. We will
not fail alone. The other thing is, as we put our trust in Jesus we will find
ourselves doing the impossible, we will do what out Saviour does, we will walk
on the water!
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