I found this piece I wrote years ago and didn’t put it on my blog. I thought I’d publish it here as it is still true. My years of following Christ are now 35, and my love of these stories has remained the same.
Stories of Water (updated, first published August 16, 2010)
I seem to like the different Bible stories that deal with water. I love Peter walking on the water. Not Jesus, I am not surprised by God who created all matter being able to walk on water, but Peter. What faith it must have taken to step out of the boat, if only for a moment to defy nature itself. I also love the story of Peter (again Peter), who, after the resurrection, is out fishing. He is back to his old occupation and presumably shamed by his denials of Jesus. He recognizes Jesus on the beach and dives into the water to swim to shore. He doesn’t wait for the boat; he is compelled to be with Him.
Today, I was reading Luke 8. Here is the story of Jesus calming the storm. “Master, master, we are going to drown!” The Bible says that they were in real danger. Seasoned sailors were wise enough to see the danger. Jesus is asleep. They awaken him, possibly with indignation. Jesus rebukes the wind and waves. He responds to his friends by asking, “Where is your faith?” Their faith was in the boat. Jesus had already healed the sick, raised the dead, and cast out demons. Now they will meet the Jesus who controls even the forces of nature. They are terrified and amazed and ask a question we often hear in scripture. “Who is this man?”
Sometimes in life, I feel like I am drowning. Drowning in obligations, or expectations, or hopelessness or frustration, or monotony. Jesus asks, “Where is your faith?” If I knew Jesus better, would I respond differently? If I believed in his power, his goodness, and his love for me, I might look at things a little differently. I might be willing to step out or dive in or even ride out the storm as needed.
John Mark McMillan, in his pain-filled song “How He Loves Us,” uses the idea of drowning in the context of God’s overwhelming grace. Sometimes as I am drowning, I don’t recognize the surroundings; I am focused on the fear and the feelings. I don’t like the sense of drowning, but Oh How He Love Us.
I am enjoying my search into Luke to answer the question, “Who is this man?” I love that I am still learning even after 23 years of being a Christian. Sometimes I think Jesus should stop the storms immediately so I don’t need to be afraid. Yet if he had done that, Peter wouldn’t have had a smaller victory in stepping out of the boat, and the disciples would not have been able to see the awesome power of a God who could calm a storm. The storm was integral in helping the disciples answer the question of “Who is this man?” I will take the hurricanes and drowning and the sloppy wet kisses that come if it means I get to meet this man.
If you don’t know the song, you should listen to it.