And He Said, Come

And He Said, Come

And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

Matthew 14: 28,29

In considering this passage we often hear criticisms of Peter, for what some view as presumption first , and failure of faith afterward. In actual fact, nothing could be more of a misrepresentation of the scene before us, and of both Peter and Christ. Peter evidenced, on numerous occasions, his desire to be near to Christ. He was an, ‘all in, all out,’ sort of character. The circumstance before us is entirely consistent as a reflection of that heart and that character. As soon as Peter realized that the Person before him was not ‘a ghost’ as the disciples had earlier surmised, he responded in a characteristically ‘Peter’ manner. He says, ‘Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water.’ Here was the evidence of true faith and the desire to walk with Christ, and to be wherever He was. Notice, please, that Christ does not rebuke Peter for being presumptuous, nor does He take issue with his bold request in any way. He merely replies, ‘Come.’ In essence, Christ answers the prayer of faith to draw near to Him. So Christ does with us. We find ourselves in the midst of the storms of life. We are doing the will of God and having a hard time of it. Christ appears to calm us with His Presence. As soon as we perceive Him we cry out, ‘Lord, draw us nearer to Your Own Great Self.’ Christ answers the prayer of faith. ‘Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.’ Take heart, Child of God. You will find that Christ will answer your prayer and the results will be ‘greater than you could ask or think.’

Our Great and Gracious Savior, how we thank You,
that You would desire to have us near You;
that You enable us to walk on stormy seas,
as to draw us ever closer to Your Own Great Self.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning