I’ve been leading our summer term crowd at Origin Church through a series on Peter. More specifically we have been considering how Jesus moves, disciples, and shepherds Peter. In my mind the series is all about “How the Carpenter Shepherds the Fisherman.” We are discovering clues into how Jesus will disciple us!
Last week I serendipitously rediscovered John Ortberg’s book, If You Want to Walk On Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat. He has wonderful observations about our view on failure and the negative take we often have on Peter. Here’s what Ortberg writes:
Did Peter fail?
Well, I suppose in a way he did. His faith wasn’t strong enough. His doubts were stronger. “He saw the wind.” He took his eyes off of where they should have been He sank. He failed.
But here is hawt I think. I think there were elven bigger failures sitting in the boat. They failed quietly. They failed privately. Their failure went unnoticed, unobserved, uncriticized. Only Peter knew the shame of public failure.
But only Peter knew two other things as well. Only Peter knew the glory of walking on the water. He alone knew what it was to attempt to do what he was not capable of doing on his own, then feeling the euphoria of being empowered by God to actually do it. Once you walk on the water, you never forget it–not for the rest of your life. I thin Peter carried that joyous moment with him to his grave.
And only Peter knew the glory of being lifted up by Jesus in a moment of desperate need. Peter knew, in a way the others could not, that when he sank, Jesus would be wholly adequate to save him. He had a shared moment, a shared connection, a shared trust in Jesus that none of the others had.
They couldn’t, because they didn’t even get out of the boat. The worst failure is not to sink in the waves. The worst failure is to never get out of the boat.
Hey, get out of the boat! Jesus shows up in our storms and our struggles. When we get a glimpse of Him in them and want to be with Him and in on what He is doing in the world, call out to Him. If He says, “Come on,” then get out of the boat and follow Him! Peter’s heart, his affection for Jesus, drew Him to pursue Jesus in spite of the storm and the waves. When Peter’s head caught up he had to engage faith in Jesus on a new level — and as we will see Jesus faithfully showed up!
It seems that more growth with Jesus happens “outside” the proverbial boat — that circle of comfort — that circle of anonymity — that circle of familiar people and practices — than in it!