Walking on Water

From Pastor Gary

Walking on Water

“(Jesus) said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.”

Matthew 14:29

The “solid” world we live in much more liquid than it appears. Solid earth has liquid molten lava at its center. And life also is more like a fluid than a solid. It is more like water than stone. Our tendency is to desire to connect this fluidity of life into a solid and freeze the water of life into something unchanging.

As a result, we tend to organize our lives into rigid blocks of ice we call habits, routines and mindsets. We “lock in” on a self-image and we tend to be conservative resisting change. We substitute rituals and pastimes for real relationships with others. We may not like our frozen life, but we know what pain to expect and know we can handle it.

The freezing of the waters of life would be fine if we could turn all of life into a solid. However, the most we can do is to freeze ourselves while the rest of life goes on moving along without us.

The Bible tells us the only thing that is unchanging is God himself. Thus, to live, really live, each must be willing like Peter to walk on the water of life. To live, to really live, is to live by faith and not by freezing.

Praise be to God for God gives the power to go beyond ourselves.

- The power to go beyond our own reason and thinking.

- The power to set aside our fears.

- The power to believe in what cannot be seen, to trust in what cannot be known, and to journey where there is no GPS.

To live a life of faith is not to live a life devoid of reason, a life where we do nothing for ourselves but magically rely on God. Rather, it is to thaw out our frozenness of mind and behavior and dare to see ourselves as children of God. A faith that allows you to move beyond the limits of your own experience and trust in the power and reasoning of God.

We are called to become the total person God intends us to be. To embrace a faith which searches your heart and causes you to face your fears; a faith that causes you to praise Christ for what God has already accomplished in your life.

Christ calls you to join him to walk on the water of life by faith, asking only that you trust him.