Religion & Spirituality
In Matthew 14, we read of the encounter the Disciples have with Jesus while he was walking on water. It reads: 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. This has always been an interesting teaching moment for me. The part that still sticks in my mind is when Jesus admonished Peter for having little faith. I mean, the man did have enough faith to step out of the boat, right? The other disciples lacked that courage. When I was younger, I always felt bad for Peter. I felt like maybe Jesus was a little hard on him. But as I’ve read this passage over time, I realize a couple of things. First of all, Jesus didn’t rebuke Peter until he had rescued him. It was after Jesus took hold of Peter’s hand. This should bring us a sense of courage in and of itself. Jesus won’t let us drown, even if our faith falters. The second thing I have come to learn is that Jesus wasn’t admonishing Peter’s lack of faith, it was actually the fact that Peter’s faith was so fleeting. Remember last week when we discussed Jesus’ miracle of feeding the multitudes? Peter was there for that. This encounter on the sea is mere hours after this incredible miracle that they were a part of! Perhaps Jesus wasn’t admonishing Peter for needing more faith. He was just reminding Peter that the same faith that allows us to see Jesus perform one miracle is all we need to see him perform the next. We don’t need to read this passage and ask for more faith. No, I believe we can read this passage and ask Jesus to allow us to remember how he has proven our faith again and again. Then, in moments of doubt, amidst the crashing waves, we know that our faith is strong enough to stand. After all, Peter did walk with Jesus back to the boat. This Road is a production of Worthwhile.Media Music: Timeless by Soul Shifters Licensed through soundstripe.com – Use code WORTHWHILE to get 10% off your subscription! (Full Disclosure: Using Soundstripe through this link does give Worthwhile Media a small % – Thank you in advance!) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thisroad/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thisroad/support