As our local church school made plans to do a fundraiser for someone affected by Hurricane Harvey, a friend sent me a video of The Oaks Adventist Academy in Houston. Their youth pastor is in a boat with two elders paddling. One has a paddle, the other has his two arms. They are literally floating and rowing in their parking lot! I mean, can you imagine? So much water!
But that boat. That boat got me!
I suppose we all have a boat. What we do. Our circle of influence. Our boat encompasses who we are. Our boat is how we ride through our lives.
So what will we do with our boats?
Jonah. We all know the story. God wanted him to do something, but Jonah did not want to do it. No. Nope. No thanks. He ends up hiding. Ducking down in the far corner of his boat. Jonah was hiding from God. It did not work out well for him.
But Peter! Peter had a boat and he gives us three great lessons for using our boats well!
#1 – Jesus is speaking to a gathering crowd. He needs more room to speak to them. He sees two boats at the water’s edge and as he gets into Peter’s boat he asks Peter to pull out a little from the shore. Peter obliges and Jesus continues to teach.
Lesson: Jesus wants to use our boats. He wants to use our talents. Our abilities. Even our possessions. Will we let him use our boat? Peter did.
#2 – Peter and the disciples had gone across the lake after the feeding of the 5,000. Jesus had gone up on the mountainside to pray and shortly before dawn he decides to walk out on the water to the boat. This spooks the disciples at first, but Jesus says, “Hey, it’s me!” Peter wants to walk to Jesus and when Jesus says, “Come,” Peter gets out of his boat. And with his eyes and focus on Jesus he is walking on water! Peter then starts looking around him…the wind and the waves…what was he doing? He takes his focus off Jesus and he begins to sink.
Lesson: We aren’t meant to stay in our boats. He is calling us. We need to get out. But when we do, we must keep our eyes on Jesus. Our focus must be on Him, if we are to make it!
#3 – Peter is fishing in his boat. He’s already denied Jesus not once, but three times that awful night. Jesus has already been crucified and resurrected. Peter has already been in the presence of the risen Jesus, but that morning, after a turn of events, Peter realizes Jesus is there on the shore. Peter, hardly thinking and so excited, jumps out of his boat and makes a beeline for Jesus. He’s not still ashamed. He doesn’t hide with leftover guilt. He trusts Jesus with his forgiveness and he turns to him…well, technically he swam…
Lesson: We have to turn our boats to him. We cannot turn away. We can trust his forgiveness.
Jesus wants our boats! He wants us to get out of our boats! And he wants us to trust his graciousness. Trust his compassion enough to, wildly and without reserve, jump out of our boats and swim to Him!
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