Taking Action.

Being bold for the right things is always admirable. Taking initiative to do the right thing is even better. The lesson at Jr. High was about being bold and taking big steps of faith. The illustrative passage? Peter walking on water. 

28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind,[d] he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:28-33)

The curious thing I wanted to talk about from this passage was something a friend pointed out to me: "Isn't it just weird how Peter asks Jesus if he can come out to Him on the water? He doesn't wait for Jesus to tell him, or to invite him. He asks Jesus to ask him to go." So very weird.

It does make sense that at that point in the disciples' journeys with Christ, Peter was one of those closest to Jesus, so of course he would want to experience life the way Jesus did and thus want to walk out onto the water. But to me, that doesn't explain completely why Peter would tell Jesus to invite him out. Why didn't Peter just ask Jesus if he could and go? Why did he ask Jesus to command/invite him? 

I see it as an exercise of trust and obedience. I see this as a desire of Peter's to take initiative to seek the Lord's will and to act on it. The passage shows Peter's deep devotion to Christ, his deep love and respect for the master. Peter wanted to be with Jesus, but he needed the assurance that this was the right way to go about it. He needed to place his faith somewhere, and that was in the good character and will of Christ. While he did end up faltering, we can't fault him in his bold desire to seek Jesus. Peter took the initiative to go after Jesus. 

I think it's commonplace for Christians to wait for Jesus to come to us. It shouldn't always be like that. That is not to say you do not wait for Christ's specific calling, not at all. This is not to say you do not wait for God. What I mean is summed up perfectly in this:

 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-12)

A relationship with Jesus is active. It's our job to take initiative and to actively seek God's will and God Himself, as opposed to just waiting around for God's will to find us.