A few weeks ago I was at a Bible study and the young man speaking spoke on a story that is a very well-known Bible story. It was the story of when Jesus walked on water and Peter stepped out of the boat to come to Jesus relying solely on faith that Jesus would allow Peter to walk on the water to meet him. Usually when this story is told we focus on Jesus and Peter. They are the main characters of the story, but what about the other characters? Did you ever think or wonder about the others who were still in the boat? Today I want to focus on those guys. The guys who stayed in the boat, the guys who are like you and me.
I first just want to put this situation in context. It was storming. Hard. These men were out at sea trying to sail to a new destination, and the winds were blowing, rain was coming down, and if you can’t see land anywhere around you, I’m sure that would be extremely frightening. It’s similar to when you are in a car and it starts storming so badly you can barely see the road. It’s scary. Then the men in the boat see a figure in the distance, Peter calls out to it, and we know how that story goes. It was Jesus. However, what did the men that stayed in the boat do? What or who do they signify? Are their actions justified? Do their actions, or do these men represent anything? Let’s investigate.
The men who stayed in the boat where disciples of Jesus. They were some of the closest people to Jesus during his time on Earth. However, that doesn’t mean they still didn’t make mistakes. I want to relate this situation to the world currently. Let’s say you and I are the men that stayed in the boat, (yeah, I know we all want to be Peter stepping out in faith, but let’s be honest, are we?), the boat is the church, the storm surrounding the boat is life outside of the church, and Jesus is Jesus. So let’s talk.
Why did the men stay in the boat? For safety I would assume, there was a storm raging just outside their boat. Why do people stay inside the church? For safety, security, fear, the same reasons the disciples stayed in the boat. It’s a scary world out there but inside of the church you feel safe, you feel accepted, you feel secure. The only problem is, Jesus isn’t in the boat. Jesus is the “storm,” or the world. Of course, He eventually makes His way to the boat and gets in, just like He is present in the church and in the world, but Jesus starts in the storm and then He goes into the boat. He starts in the world and then He goes to church. We are called to be like Jesus, so we too should be in the world. Then we should come into the church looking not for a haven to hide and seek safety from the world, but a place to become filled back up with love, the Holy Spirit, and fellowship with others, and then go back out into the world.
The last thing I want to mention is that Jesus isn’t the only person out in the storm, or “the world," Beyond the walls of the church are people who can’t seem to fight the storm to make it to church, or maybe the storm is so bad they can’t even see the church. They can’t walk on water because they don’t have the faith, but you can. You can walk out to them and bring them in. That is what we are called to do.
I encourage you to investigate your life and decide for yourself if you are one of the men who stayed in the boat, or if you have the faith to step out of it. When you step out of the boat and into the storm or out of the church and into the world, you will be living a life with soul purpose.
