Whenever we hear the phrase "walk on water," we always think of a couple of thirty year-old bearded men in 1st century, near-eastern robes, one of them being Jesus of course. The other guy in the story is Peter. Walking on water is so miraculous that this story is known by almost all people of the Americas today, and obviously by many others for almost 2000 years. However, what's even more fascinating is Peter's insecurity and how it reveals so much about each and every one of us. The story goes something like this:
Matt 14:30-31 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 holf of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
We never notice just how delicate and finite we are. This breath of life within us drives us to feel permanent, established. We don't realize that once we've reached/accomplished the thing that ensures our identity and comfort, we immediately crave for more, an elevated, more nuanced sense of security than what we felt from the accomplishment before. We are conditioned to become our own master, "captain of this ship."
Because Peter's flight across the water is not from his own strength, not only is he not secure and calm at heart, but he forgets about the miracle of walking across the water! We're so focused upon the security and challenging winds of tomorrow, that we allow the beauty of the providence of today in all our fragility to escape us. If our peace and happiness are derived from temporary, conditional resources like our salary or ability to discern the future, we will only be destroyed when the paper walls of our castle are blown down. Most importantly, we will miss out on the gorgeous gift of our smallness and weakness. We will forget about the grace of God, that allows us to sing about the fact that we can let go of control and simpley accept his blessings and guidance.
