The Word: Matthew 14:22–33
“O you of little faith, why did you doubt?
My path to Christ is one of heartache and suffering.
Growing up, I was an ardent atheist with a militant desire not just to debate the faith of believers but demean it. My criticisms were built upon suffering and sin. How could a loving god let so much suffering into this world? How could a loving god let man commit atrocities in his name? How could a loving god inspire versus such as this:
“If two men fight together, and the wife of one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of the one attacking him, and puts out her hand and seizes him by the genitals, then you shall cut off her hand; your eye shall not pity her. — Deuteronomy 25:11–12
“Defend this quote,” said the atheist to the Christian. “Go on. I’ll wait.”
The problem with any debate had in the hallways of a high school is that no one truly and completely understands the concepts at hand. That’s a wonderful part of being that age. We learn, we fail, we develop and we learn again.
What I do know is that when my call to Christ came, I hesitated. For so long, I had persecuted Christ, the Church and Christians. Certainly there was no place in the pews for me.
When I confided my damnable self-doubts to a priest, he chuckled and sighed. “One never knows when they’ll be blinded on the road to Damascus,” he said.
That was my first introduction to the Acts of the Apostles and one of history’s greatest theologians. Saul of Tarsus, whose persecution of Christians ran red with blood, was chosen by Christ to bring His name to the Gentiles (Acts 9:1–19). Through Christ, Paul the Apostle was born.
“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” — I Timothy 1:15
If this man, who humbly declares himself chief among sinners, was used by God to spread His name then surely there’s a place for us all with Christ.
This week, I’m exploring faith through one of the most powerful passages in scripture from the Gospel of Matthew:
22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. 24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.
25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.
27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”
28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”
I did not grow up in the faith and the parables Jesus teaches can often be lost upon me without further study. This passage, however, pulls no punches.
Through the storm, Christ calls on all of us to come. Some choose to stay on the boat because stepping off can be terrifying. It certainly was for Peter as his faith stumbled in the face of danger.
Often, you cannot find words in the midst of a crisis. I’m sure there was much Peter wanted to say in his moment of fear but instead he managed to pray three simple words: “Lord, save me!” And he was saved.
Praying is something I struggle with still. As a non-believer most of my life, it was not ingrained into my daily routine. But believe you me, when I need help the most, those three words are the first to come to mind.
And when that happens, Jesus says to us all, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
God Bless
TheCanadianConservative
The Word is a weekly reflection on scripture. I am by no means a theologian or scholar of the Bible. I am just a man finding his way as we all are.
