Peter, suddenly bold, said, “Master, if it’s really you, call me to come to you on the water.” Matthew 14:28 (MSG)
Best of the Best – Faith Leap Series – Part 1
Go to PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3
A season in my life had ended. I was grieving. Heartbroken. I needed to let go of some things. Bury the dead, so to speak. So I went to the ocean.
There’s a spot at the point out at my local beach, right at the bottom of a short cliff, where the rocks form these amazing ledges and natural benches from years of colliding with the ocean. As the sea hugged the shore in front of me, I sensed God deep in the water receiving my burial offering and sending wave upon wave of peace in return…
I looked up to my right towards “Jump Rock”, which is about 4 meters above the water at mid-tide. A group of tweens were peering over the edge, daring each other to jump. They started exploring the ledge, climbing up and down the formations, checking the swell, timing it. And then one by one, they took the leap. They flew into the air, arms like wings, eyes on the water below, and plunged safely into the sea – a spontaneous and salty baptism of freedom and adventure. A holy moment. A prophecy…
In Matthew 14, the Disciples were sailing across a lake, when a huge storm arose (story found in Matt 14). Just before dawn, at night’s darkest hour, in the midst of the crashing waves, they saw a figure walking towards them.
A person.
On the water.
Walking.
They were terrified and thought a ghost was advancing towards them, when the figure called out to them and said:
“Don’t worry guys! Don’t be afraid… it’s me. Jesus…”
WHAT?!
In the middle of a crazy night, a bunch of guys who had had no sleep, little food and were freaking out during a storm, ALL see someone walking on the water. Their first thought isn’t, “It must be Jesus… the guy who’s performed miracle after miracle right in front of our eyes…”
No, they jumped straight to ‘Ghost Theory'.
One voiced echoed from the boat, “If it is really you Jesus, call to me, and I will come to you.”
Peter had answered Jesus call once before. He was fishing in the Lake, as he did every day, when Jesus, a Rabbi, approached him and asked:
“Follow me?”
This was the first surprise. As all Jewish boys did, Peter had started Rabbi training at a young age. And the fact that he was now a fisherman meant that he had not made the Rabbi cut. He was sent from school back to his family to learn his father’s trade. Only the best of the best of the best were permitted to continue their education to become a Rabbi.
A Rabbi would pick a disciple from a promising group of students by saying to them “follow me.” And their final years of training would commence one on one.
Peter was not one of the best of the best. No one had ever asked him to follow them. He had been rejected and sent back. And now this Rabbi, Jesus, was asking him to follow him?
Peter, who had not been smart enough, who had been rejected, not picked, not the best of the best, was now being chosen.
This was Peter’s first leap of faith. At that moment, something happened he never thought was possible and a dream he had buried years ago resurfaced. Hope swelled up from deep within, he dropped his fishing nets, left his boat behind and jumped right in.
“Faith is stepping out into the unknown with nothing to guide us but a hand just beyond our grasp.” Frederick Buechner, from “The Magnificent Defeat.”
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Go to Part 2 – Walking on Water »
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