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.