(This idea was kinda swimming around in my head off and on for the last week and inspired and taken from institute class last tuesday)
22.) And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.
23.) And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
24.) But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
25.)And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
26.) And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
27.) But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
28.) And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29.) And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30.) But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
31.) And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
32.) And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
33.) Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God. (Matthew 14: 22-33)
So we were learning about Peter and the question for the night was: "what are we willing to do to stand where Peter stood?", which is in relation being able to walk on the water for the short time he did with the Savior. Having a week to digest the spiritual awesomeness that it brought, i've thought of these few lessons that we can learn from these verses and the story it tells.
1.) Forget about Peter falling...he had the courage to get out of the boat in the first place.
2.) We sometimes fear the help that is on the way, even in the midst of trials.
3.) Christ helps us up, even after we assure to him our faith is firm and then slip up.
So...onto my thoughts and commentary
1.) Forget about Peter falling...he had the courage to get out of the boat in the first place. As we know, Peter was a fisherman by trade. He knew those waters of Galilee. The water was his life, basically. Im sure he had seen and also experienced many storms, too. So at this point, Peter and others were in the boat while the storm was raging and then saw Christ coming towards them. Despite the crappy weather conditions, Peter willingly on knowingly chose to get out of the boat and its safety to walk towards Christ. Theres no need to put all the focus on Peter falling in the water and then labeling him as a big doubter. For us as a whole, are we willing to get outside of our comfort zone and go towards those good things in life, even Christ himself, while storms of life rage around us? Why risk it, right? Yet, those good things in life are worth reaching out to even when all around us is raging. Doesnt mean there isnt any risk involved with it. It may cost us in some way thats merely temporal, but the ultimate reward is much better. Patricia Holland (Elder Holland's wife) quoted Madeleine L'Engle when she said, "Peter was able to walk on the water until he remembered he didnt know how." Those water walking moments in life will empower us with something we didnt know we had. We just have to get out of the boat first.
2.) We sometimes fear the help that is on the way, even in the midst of trials. With the crew being tossed about in the boat on the sea, Christ came towards them and bid them to "be not afraid", yet they were still. Sometimes, when we have trials in life and a solution is present to remedy that, we either A.) fear that the solution may be worse than the trial or B.) we focus so much on the trouble, we totally miss the help there ready and willing. Peter sank only after taking his view off the Savior and instead looked at the trouble around him. Being a really stubborn person, when i find myself in a bad mood or what have you, a good few try to help break me out of my funk; yet i dont always want the help right away. Or say to get out of a tight spot, we have to "bite the bullet" to get out. Willing to accept help and not fearing it helps when we are finally delivered off our storm tossed sea.
3.) Christ helps us up, even after we assure to him our faith and then slip up. As Peter walked across the water, again he took he focus off Christ and sank. After demonstrating the faith to get out of the boat and then start walking, Peter was looking like the great person that he was and the person Christ knew he could be. But as he sank, Peter shows us that endearing vulnerability that all of us can relate to. Peter's heartfelt "Lord, save me" rings in our ears as similar pleas we have offered ourselves. Christ reached down and helped him up and with a reply of "wherefore didst thou doubt?". i believe that wasn't intended as chiding, but more like the tender council a parent would give to a child as something to learn from. Coming from a fellow Peter, i can reeeeeeeally relate. I myself have shown my efforts to do good and have strong faith. They're not in huge, extraordinary ways but they are things i try to always keep in mind. But as hard times come about and opposition builds, i start to sink. As i get helped back up, the pattern tends to repeat itself though. Im definitely a work in progress. But so was he
(With all of these, we can also take away this bonus lesson from Peter...despite the times he had where his faith wavered a little bit and even denied the Savior three times...he came back stronger than ever in the end and became the prophet of Christ's Church and helped carry the gospel to the gentiles and many other great miracles. Showing that everyone can come back from even our lowest point.)
...it was a good lesson last week
No comments:
Post a Comment