“There is a strong drift toward the hard theological left. some emergent types want to recast Jesus as a limp-wrist hippie in a dress with a lot of product in His hair, who drank decaf and made pithy zen statements about life while shopping for the perfect pair of shoes. In Revelations, Jesus is a prize fighter with a tattoo down His leg, a sword in His hand and the commitment to make someone bleed. That is a guy I can worship. I cannot worship the hippie, diaper, halo Christ because I cannot worship a guy I can beat up. I fear some are becoming more cultural than christian, and without a big Jesus who has authority and hates sin as revealed in the bible, we will have less and less Christians, and more and more confused, spiritually self-righteous blogger critics of Christianity.”
Matthew 14:26-29
And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
There is something that has been heavily on my heart this year. As I have gone on various experiences and adventures in this life, I have realized just how useless our physical comforts and security blankets are when we expose ourselves to situations that demand nothing but pure, raw, hardcore Faith.
Raw Faith – such a foreign concept.
We are drawn to ideas of thick jungles, with a mission to deliver bibles to a hostile tribe in a part of the world so remote I cannot even type its name on the English keyboard. Or, perhaps we are drawn to great and miraculous healing’s where the blind can see and the dead are freed from the bindings of death. Perhaps we think of those who do the ‘impossible’ tasks, caring for the sick and wounded. The options are endless.
Our faith ought not to be different than this. See, Faith is often displayed by external factors – as mentioned above – but it must start within our hearts.
We have grown very comfortable with the misconception that Faith is the ability to go from one comfort zone to another; dangling from rope-to-rope like Tarzan swinging through the forest of life, shouting “Hallelujah” along the way for good measure. Upon reaching our next ‘safety zone’ we prepare for the next ‘leap’ of Faith.
It ought not to be so, beloved.
When Peter stepped onto the water, he walked to his Savior – not another boat.
Peter, being drawn to the Christ, cast aside all physical notions of safety as he placed his feet on top of treacherous waters; churning a fierce storm and causing even the well-seasoned fishermen to be fearful. The idea of walking on the water was, at best, a call to suicide.
However, we who believe are fully understanding of the fact that it was not a suicide call, but a call to live life more abundantly.
This week, I challenge you to look deep inside your spirit and identify whether or not you are actively seeking to grow and challenge your Faith in new and daring ways. For some of us, it may be stepping out of our comfort zones. Seek Him and you will find.
No Comments