The Beauty of Wiping Out
So I just got back from a weekend of waterskiing in Florence, Alabama. Rebecca and I were visiting Marge, a friend from college. It was my first time waterskiing and I must say, I took it in the face the first few times. Granted, the water was too choppy to ski on, but that’s really no excuse. It’s the strangest feeling being motionless in the water and then blasting off. Your body surges forward, your abs and lower back tense up, and before you know it you’re standing straight up on top of the water.
I often wonder what was going through Peter’s mind when he swung his first-century, hairy fisherman leg over the side of that boat to stand on the water. Talk about putting your weight upon your faith! Was it like glass? Or concrete? What about the water? Perhaps the water had an identity crisis. Normally it would allow a man to sink right through, but not that day. That day it behaved like asphalt or gravel and supported Peter’s 175 or so lbs. Sure, we all know that Peter doubted and eventually sank. But he also walked. Those first few steps must have stuck with him for the rest of his life. And how interesting–at the end of his life, the feet that had witnessed the awesome power of God supported the weight of his body when he was crucified upside down.
I think sometimes wiping out is the best thing we can do for our faith. It’s the questions we miss on the exam that we always remember. It’s the times when we deny Christ like Peter, that healing comes and Jesus says “Feed my sheep.” How can shepherds understand what their congregations are going through when they themselves have never experienced the lonely separation from God? Not that we should seek rebellion or sin, but God’s power is best displayed through our weaknesses. His mightiness always overcomes our fecklessness. God’s muscles are bigger than our cellulite.