Jul23 Written by:Nathan Williams
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
When Peter stepped out of the boat, I wonder what the other disciples were thinking.
"I can't believe he's doing it."
"Peter has such a hard head - he'll do just about anything."
"He can't walk on water. Nobody can."
"How is he doing that? He's actually walking on the water!"
"Ah! There he goes - he's going to drown because he's so impetuous."
"I knew he couldn't do it..."
I'm not saying the other disciples actually said or thought any of this, but I do notice that there was not one other disciple who dared step out with Peter. People have a tendency to think the worst in every situation. Many have a defeatist attitude. They know by some learned instinct that no one can really be great. Therefore, it logically follows that no one should even TRY to do something great. If someone starts to step out in faith, these people are the first to let him know he's going to drown.
When we try to follow the Lord, we are ridiculed by many. Families laugh at the son who decides to turn to Christ and stop his worldly habits. I know a wife who scorned her husband's decision to give up his partying and drinking for a life of purity. These people pressure Christians to give up. "You can't do it," they say. "You're never going to make it. You'll fall right back into your old habits in no time." And when the Christian stumbles, the jeering onlookers poke and prod and do their best to keep him down there on the floor. They feel validated and confirmed in their decision to not even try. But when the Christian continues to get back up by the power of Jesus Christ, the worldly crowd is amazed and feels somewhat foolish. In fact, they feel a certain condemnation of their way of life.
Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 2:14-16: "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?"
Who, indeed, is adequate for these things? No Christian is adequate by himself, but only by the power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
God bless,
Nathan
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