Little Faith

Some questions have come to my mind in reading in our Come Follow Me home reading and study the last week or so.  I want to share my thoughts about Peter walking on the water.  First question that came to mind is....why do we only read about that in Matthew?  We do read in Mark and John about Christ walking on the water to come out to the boat to meet the disciples, but they say nothing about Peter stepping out of that boat and walking a few steps.  That is a big deal!  Why didn't Mark and John include that?  If any of you have thoughts on that, please share them.  But let me share what I've really been pondering about. So, remember in Matthew 14 we read about the disciples in a boat in the middle of the sea.  They had just witnessed and been part of Christ feeding over 5000 people from a mere 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, with a gathering of 12 baskets full of left overs when everyone was full.  Jesus then remained behind and told them to go ahead on the boat.  Basically, he would catch up.  So here they are on this boat, it's middle of the night and the winds get strong and it's a bit tense out there.  They then see someone walking toward them on top of the water.  This frightens them.  I think that's a natural emotion for that situation.  Jesus calls out to them and tells them it's just him and not to be afraid.  So here's Peter's part in all this.  He calls out to Jesus saying, "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water".  So what were the other disciples doing at this point?  I don't know the answer to that, but I do know they weren't asking to be called out onto the water.  But Peter did, and when Christ invited him out by simply saying, "Come", Peter did just that.  He stepped out of the boat.  Did he know if he was stepping onto the water or into the water at that point?  My guess is he didn't know which, but he did leave the boat!  Then he actually walks on top of the water toward Jesus.  When did he realize he was not sinking?  When did he realize he was doing the impossible?  I don't know the answer to that.  But at some point his attention is drawn to the winds, the boisterous winds, around him and he started to sink into the water.  What did he do then?  I know, because Matthew tells us.... he called out to Jesus to save him.  And we know from the story that is exactly what happened.  Christ immediately reached down and grabbed  Peter and kept him from sinking any further.  Christ then said to Peter, "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"  We also know they made it back to the ship together.  Did Peter walk back with Christ?  Did Christ carry him?  I don't know, but does it matter?  I think about Christ telling Peter he had little faith.  Is "little faith" a bad thing?  He certainly had more faith than the other disciples at that point.  At least it seems that way to me.  They didn't ask Jesus to bid them to come and they didn't step out of the boat.  Peter did.  Christ tells us in a later chapter about what we can do with faith just the size of a mustard seed.  A mustard seed is incredibly small.  He said mountains can be moved with faith just that small size.  So was he being critical of Peter's "little faith"?  I would like to think he was not, but merely making a statement about what Peter was able to do with his little faith.  But he also asked him why he doubted.  So this is how I would like to believe the conversation went.  Christ had just saved Peter from falling into the depths of the sea and He says lovingly, "Peter, look what you did with the little faith you have! Tell me why you began to doubt."  Of course he doubted.  Don't we all let the boisterous winds around us cause us to take our eyes off of Christ at times, even for a mere few minutes, letting the distractions of life interfere and get in the way?  Unfortunately I think I do more than I would like to admit.  At least my eyes are not as fixed on Him as they should be at all times.  And what happens when I start to sink?  I hope I do exactly what Peter did and cry out to my Savior.  Because if I do, He will do exactly what He did for Peter and does it matter if He carries me or if I walk beside Him.  No, it doesn't matter at all. 

One more thing......Peter's little faith enabled him to ask for that miracle in the first place.  This experience of Peter's has so much for me to learn about little faith, about using that little faith to ask for the miracles we need in our lives and then stepping out of the boat to do our part, about keeping our sites fixed on the Savior.  But also knowing He will always reach out to us, no matter what, and will be there to hold onto.  I only hope I can match Peter's little faith in my life.

Those Parable Moments

I've been thinking about parables lately, not only the ones Christ taught, but the parables around us.  I see them from time to time.  I write about them from time to time.  Some of my already posted blog posts are about some of those parable moments.  Some call that metaphorical writing, I prefer to call it a parable because there is always something to learn, something to help me understand more, to be better, or maybe just to help me endure.  Something that comes to mind is the change of seasons.  Living in Idaho now has me experiencing that change in a whole different light.  Yes, I know I grew up in Idaho, but I've also lived in Arizona for over 40 years.  I've experienced different types of seasons and I also see things differently as an adult, or maybe as an adult in this particular stage of life.  I see and experience winter here in Idaho but I'm not a fan of Idaho winters. Oh it's okay, even nice until Christmas, then I don't like it anymore.  I'm ready for spring.  But spring doesn't happen on my timetable.  I just have to wait and wait and wait..... And then when the 1st signs of spring arrive, I want to dig and plant and see flowers.  But, alas I still have to wait and wait and wait.  I see a pattern here and something to learn, perhaps about patience. Yes definitely about patience.  But it's more than that.  Here in the winter, when it's really cold and snowy and icy, there is a real lack of joy for me.  Everything seems dead outside.  I don't go out much, actually I don't think many do.  I don't see my neighbors out and about near as much in the winter.  I think people just stay in a lot more.  At least that's my impression.  There's a lot more depression in the winter months.  Lack of sunshine, lack of vitamin D, increased depression, oh I know there's science behind it, but still something to learn, something of a parable.  Some winters last a lot longer than others and even though we are ready for spring, it just seems like it may never come, but it does and the weather starts to change.... sometimes gradually, sometimes more drastically, but it changes.  More sunshine, warmer temperatures, snow and ice gone and I start to see people outside, walking, biking, working in yards.  Things start to bud and grow.  Somehow, the bulbs and roots store energy and nutrients and food, just waiting patiently for the right time to sprout.  Again, a scientific explanation.  Seeing that new life sprout up from a once frozen ground is amazing.  What I feel inside is incredible too, something like an awakening.  A renewed sense.  I guess it's no wonder that Easter is in the spring.   After all that's what Easter is all about, that awakening and renewing, even a perfecting.  So many things to learn and experience and understand, just by observing the change of seasons.

We certainly all have those change of seasons in our lives.  Some winter periods of our journey are mild, some pretty severe.  Some are long and some relatively not so long.  We may even stay inside ourselves and not venture out.  I have certainly experienced that.  For some it might seem like spring is so far away, maybe even not coming at all.  Lack of joy, lack of hope, even despair.  But even the weather, the change of seasons we experience every year is teaching us about our Heavenly Father's plan and our Savior's role.  Spring will come, the sun will shine.  New growth can and does sprout out of that once frozen ground and it is an incredible thing to see.  It is an even more incredible thing to feel and experience that growth sprouting within ourselves.  The Son will heal us from the winters in our lives, no matter how severe, how hopeless or how long.  He not only heals us, but is with us every single minute of those long winters.  If we can only stay rooted in our Savior's life and love, we will have what we need to survive those winters and it most definitely will be a glorious Spring.