Water Walkers?

Driving down the road, I was listening to music on Christian radio. They were playing the latest song from Rhett Walker, titled Believer. It's a catchy song about how his life's been changed since he was found by Jesus. The chorus says, "I'm a mountain mover, water walker, more than just an overcomer, 'cause I've been set free."

As I listened, I was thinking about the phrase, "water walker." This, of course, comes from the story of Jesus walking on the water, and calling Peter to come out and do the same. It's a great story that captures our imagination. There was another song about this a couple of years ago, called "WaveWalker." Preachers like to talk about this story, as well. I've heard a number of sermons on it through the years. The sermons and the songs seem to reflect one idea: Jesus calls us to walk on the water, to exercise our faith by getting out of the boat and do great things for Him.

As I listened to the song, the thought struck me that this isn't really what this story is about. I went back to the gospels to read the narrative. Matthew, Mark, and John all share this story. The context is important. This comes immediately after Jesus feeds the multitude with five loaves of bread and two fish. This was an amazing miracle, and John tells us that the people were ready to make Jesus king by force at this point. Given other references that clue us in to the disciples' desire for power in Jesus' kingdom, we can probably assume that they thought the idea of making Jesus king was a good one. They would have been ready to get behind that, and probably would have led the crowd in this effort. But that wasn't Jesus' plan. 

The writers tell us that Jesus made them get into the boat and go to the other side, and then He dismissed the crowd, sending them home. I imagine there was much grumbling as the disciples obeyed, getting into the boat and beginning to go across the lake. The story says that there were strong winds that night, so the passage across the water wasn't easy. The waves were high. Even though He said, "My yoke is easy and my burden is light," sometimes obeying Jesus' commands can be a lot of work.

The story says that Jesus went to pray by Himself, but then, knowing what the disciples were going through, He walked across the water to where they were. Mark says He was going to just walk past them, but they saw Him, and were terrified. To be fair, they only had two options as to what was going on - either someone was walking across the water, which wasn't at all reasonable, or this was a ghost, which also wasn't reasonable. They went with the ghost option - apparently that was less unbelievable than somebody walking on the water. 

Jesus stops, knowing their fear, and says, "Take courage! It's Me. Don't be afraid!" I think it's important to notice here what He doesn't do. Jesus doesn't say, "Come on, all of you, get out here on the water with Me." They are doing what He told them to do, sitting in the boat, rowing across the water. Of course, Peter, always impulsive, says, "Lord, if it's You, tell me to come to You on the water." 

"If it's You." Interestingly, these are similar words to the ones Satan used in the wilderness - "If you are the Son of God..." Words of doubt, but with very different motivation. Satan used them to try to plant doubt in Jesus' mind. Peter uses them expressing his own doubt. Thankfully, Jesus knows our hearts. He meets Peter where he is, and says, "Come." Of course, we know what happens next. It's a big failure on Peter's part. He steps out of the boat, takes a few steps, is overwhelmed by the waves, and starts to sink. He calls out, "Lord, save me," and again, Jesus meets him where he is, catching him and helping him into the boat. 

As I review the story, I understand why preachers and songwriters are captivated by it. We all want to have the kind of faith Peter had, even in the midst of his doubt. We want to believe that we also would step out of the boat if Jesus calls. We want to do great things for God. But notice that it doesn't seem to be Jesus' intention to call anyone out of the boat. He only does so in response to Peter's expression of doubt/faith. He never calls the other eleven to get out of the boat. They are honoring Him by being in the boat, doing what He told them to do. 

It seems to me that we too often miss the point of the story. I don't think the point is that we're supposed to get out of the boat, or to walk on water. The point of the story to me is that Jesus knows what we're going through, and makes His presence known. We are called to do what He asks, even if it's difficult, and He is always there with us, saying, "It is I! Don't be afraid!" He may occasionally go beyond that, as He did with Peter, to meet us where we are, but that's the exception.

So I wonder, am I as willing to be a boat-sitter as I am to be a wave-walker? Am I willing to serve in whatever way He calls me, without needing to ask for a miracle? Do I love Him enough to do what He asks, fighting against the waves, no matter what? I pray that my answer to that will be Yes.