John 6:16-21 - Walking on Water - Growing in Christ
What's harder, walking on water or teaching an old dog new tricks? I'm not so sure.
Jesus slipped away from the masses after miraculously feeding thousands of them. They wanted to make him king by force, but Jesus wanted none of that. Fully man and fully God He was on a mission to save. The disciples, apparently without instructions and not sure what to do, waited for Jesus. But by dark Jesus didn’t arrive so they got the bright idea to leave Jesus behind (or maybe they thought He went on ahead of them). They hopped into the boat at night and started to row the long distance (the Sea is about eight miles at its widest) to the other side. Having done some sailing on Saskatchewan lakes I can say that six or eight miles even by sail is a fair way!
After three or four miles of rowing the disciples found themselves in very rough water with gale-force winds. Making their terror complete they saw Jesus walking on the water towards the boat. Jesus calmed the disciples by speaking to them saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am here” (6:20 - it would not be the only time Jesus taught His men in a boat (see Luke 8:22-25)). In classic biblical understatement John writes, “Then they were eager to let him in the boat” (6:21). Ya, no kidding!
This scene as retold by John raises many questions. Where was Jesus? Why did He go away into the hills without clear instructions to His disciples? Why didn’t the disciples wait for Him? How did Jesus walk three or four miles out on the water? How did the boat immediately arrive at their destination?
My faith in God (and in Scripture) does not doubt the miracles retold here. I trust that the Creator of nature can also work through His creation to do the miraculous (I believe God does that in both the seen world like this scene on the Sea of Galilee, and in the unseen world). God can and does do the miraculous and He providentially orchestrates. I wrestle more with the why rather than the how.
The Bible tells us that God rewards each person according to what he has done (Psalm 62:12 and Revelation 22:16). Each of us, born of a woman, has ability and responsibility. That said, I think this passage along with many others in Scripture tells us that it's important not only what we do but that we grow our faith. There are levels of faith. Little faith, and great faith.
God is our healer and our restorer. God is the One we return to when we fail. Jesus shows His disciples His kindness and His forgiveness. And He does so with us today. Jesus is the Author and Perfector of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). And like the disciples, Jesus is our just Judge. I’m excited for the days ahead for God is allowing each of us to do good deeds for Jesus. God I believe pays attention to the voice of our prayers. God loves it when we make wise decisions and He loves it when we act in service to each other and when we act in unity and harmony. I believe God is calling us today to pause and think about how we can wisely grow in Him in the coming days. Maybe you have only a little faith - like a mustard seed. Don't worry - God can and will work with that (Matthew 17:20). But put it into action. Do something with your trust in Jesus today. God has not turned away from us and He will be greatly pleased as we grow in Him - today and in the days ahead.
As the new year fast approaches, my prayer and hope is to grow in Christ. I see patterns and looping ruts in my life that I’d like to move past. The major ruts that keep me from growth are becoming more evident - I'm an old dog, but in Christ, complacency is not acceptable. Like fertile soil, we must produce.
We see in this walking on water passage of John the need to wait on Jesus. That's hard. We all know the precarious situations we get ourselves into when we go on without Him - in the dark and foolishly unprepared.
But we also see a principle here in the New Testament of Jesus meeting us when we go out in faith. It’s okay to go in faith. If our faith is in Him alone we can ask Him for wisdom. For anything really, provided our faith is pure and in Him alone. Like Abraham, some of us are getting old when we finally see the ruts of the past and know that something has to change. We know that we have to stop repeating the same old dumb habits. These habits (excuses) may keep us content but they do little to spiritually mature us. It’s okay to get in the boat and go. Storms will come. Danger. Unknowns. Jesus will meet us there. “Don’t be afraid, I am here!”
I trust that 2025 will be a great year for growth. God willing new opportunities will present themselves via the Holy Spirit. It is as good a time as ever to put away dysfunction and patterns that repeat false hopes and unhealthy relationships. It’s time to follow Jesus and to challenge each other not to trust in men, but to trust Jesus and believe that He is growing His church and that He has authentic community and fellowship for us. We must listen to God and be bold. Launch. Lift off. Like Abraham, be vulnerable. Go and trust Jesus will be there alongside you.
We hold ourselves back for lack of desire to grow and lack of self-control. We can easily succumb to cowardice rather than bravely following God. The truth is God gives us lots of guidance. It is not for lack of Scriptural wisdom that we can’t overcome the ruts. The truth is we don’t need any help to be sinful. Temptation comes from our own desires (James 1:14-16). Out of our hearts proceed evil thoughts, sexual immorality, thefts, murders, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All these things come from within and defile a man (Mark 7:21-23). It's good to remind ourselves and warn each other of the inner danger. Some say all things are fixed - mindset, eternal destination, aristocratic standing. Hogwash. We all can follow God when we hear the Gospel. We can and must all grow in Christ.
However, it is also the truth that believers in Jesus Christ have the Holy Spirit-enabled self-control to refuse to let sin reign in our bodies and our minds. We can reject lust, and every other sin, through God’s help. We put away all filthiness (James 1:21). And present ourselves as alive from the dead as instruments of light (Romans 6:12-13).
No one will make hard choices for us. We can help and encourage each other to be bold this year in doing something new. A new job. A new venture. A new hobby. A new church. Maybe a new career. God is the One who faithfully shows us His wonderful loving kindness and helps us to be men and women of courage. Proverbs men and women - those unashamed and who gladly set out for the unknown. Pioneers. Adventurers.
Help us Lord Jesus as we plan for the year ahead. We seek to be the apple of Your eye. Well prepared and well equipped for the challenges. We seek to follow after You bravely in the coming year for we know of Your goodness and the need for us to grow. Amen.
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