I was perplexed when I read the Gospel of Matthew for the first time and saw that Peter walked on water. I could not have imagined that in my wildest dreams. In all the children’s bibles and pop culture references I’ve read and heard, Jesus was portraid as the superhero who could even walk on water. But in reality, Peter also did this miracle, without being very super:

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” – Matthew 14:25-33, NIV

Now, Peter shows some amazing faith and courage here! I mean, I would have been fully satisfied with Jesus’ answer “It is I. Don’t be afraid” and said “Awesome, welcome into our boat.” Instead, Peter loves Jesus so much that he wants to join him on the stormy ways, as long as he knows that it truly is Him.

And Jesus loves Peter – when the apostle gets afraid, doubts and starts to sink, Jesus “immediately” picks him up, asks him why he doubted and brings him to safety. All the disciples then worships Jesus and confess that He is the Son of God.

John Wimber, who have inspired me a lot, often said that faith is spelled R.I.S.K. It isn’t comfortable to follow Jesus, but it’s glorious. We have to do things that we thought would be impossible. And when we fail, we can be assured that Jesus will rescue us from the stormy waves.

Also it would be really cool to actually walk on water sometime. I know that Indonesian preacher Mel Tari reported such a miracle in his book Like a Mighty Wind – some Indonesian missionaries had to cross a river to reach a village with the Gospel, and miraculously they walked on the water. Nothing is impossible for those who believe.