Peter's Failure? Or A Challenge to All of Us?

One of the  many reasons scripture provides me with a strong foundation is that it never changes. It’s a rock.
No matter how many translations it goes through, Biblical scripture remains as is.

“In the beginning. . .” is “In the beginning. . .” whether it’s NIV or KJV or RSV or NRSV or whatever other alphabetical translation you may have.

What does change is our approach to it.

As we live our lives, grow older, make our way down life’s path, scripture that once had no meaning suddenly has much meaning and scripture that once meant everything now means less.

The actual scripture has not changed but our life’s experiences have altered the way we view and react to scripture.

There are several examples of this for me but one in particular stands out. It’s one of my favorite passages of scripture (Matthew 14:22-33). Here’s the story. . .

Jesus was tired so he sent the disciples away and went to the mountain and prayed.

The disciples were hanging out in their boat in the middle of the sea when a storm blew up. It was dark and the boat was being tossed about. No doubt it was a scary moment – especially for the non-fishermen of the group.

On top of all that, they are straining to see the shore when suddenly they see what they think is a ghost. Seriously? They are dealing with a life-threatening storm in the middle of the night in the middle of the sea and now they are being haunted? Turns out the “ghost” is Jesus and, yes, He is walking along on the water. Just strolling out to meet the fellas.

Peter, being the Peter we all know and love, tells the apparition that if He is indeed Jesus, to call him out to Him. So, He does. Jesus calls to Peter.

Peter steps out onto the water and begins walking toward Jesus. Then in the midst of the storm, Peter looks around and realizes that he’s walking on water and begins to sink.

He reaches out to Jesus, who grabs him and helps him into the boat.

Jesus says, “O ye of little faith.”

Then the storm ends. And the disciples are awestruck in the presence of the living Christ.

This is a great story and one used during my early days as an example of how dumb Peter was and how we should not lose our faith like Peter did. How in the world could Peter have lost the faith when the living Christ was standing right in front of him?

“O ye of little faith.”

It’s that phrase. It’s that little admonishment from Jesus that is painful. How do you think he said it? Angrily? Matter of factly? Sarcastically?

Not one of us wants to be accused by Jesus, of all people, of having “little faith.” No way. We are members of the Big Faith. Just ask us.

I was told that my faith should not be shaken by life’s storms and that Peter’s failure was a lesson to me to remember that Christ is always right in front of me. That He’s always there. That I shouldn’t be afraid. Peter had a crisis of faith – a crisis I should learn from and understand.

There’s some truth to that point of view, of course. Jesus is always with us. He’s always in front of us, reaching out. And, like Peter, it is easy to forget this truth when confronted with life’s storms.

But experience has taught me that what Peter experienced was not failure but an incredible act of bravery.

Let’s face it, who in the heck climbs out of a perfectly good boat onto the stormy seas out of an act of pure faith? You? Me?

How many times have we chosen to stay in the boat? How many times have I chosen the safety of the boat when what was needed was for me to step out?

It’s easy in the boat. It’s dry in the boat. It’s safe in the boat.

It’s what we’ve always done – in the boat. I’m  not prepared to leave the boat. I don’t have the necessary gifts to step outside the boat. It’s scary outside the boat.

If I step outside the boat, I don’t know what will happen.

To my mind, the question of this scripture is not “Why did Peter step outside of the boat?” but “Why didn’t the other disciples step outside the boat with Peter?”

Yes, Peter experienced a crisis of faith, but he experienced it because he chose to step out of the boat on faith. He was willing to meet Jesus in the midst of the storm. He was willing to step beyond his comfort zone to experience the true living Christ.

As I’ve thought and studied more on this particular passage of scripture, it has become a benchmark for me. Want to experience the true and living Christ? Then you must step out to meet Him. Get out of the boat.

And remember, if you do begin to sink, reach out for Christ – He’s always there.