Hungry for God: Sneak Preview

“And about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, but when they saw Him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid’”—Mark 6:48-50

What would make Jesus walk on water? Or better yet, what makes us sink? Have you ever thought about that? Why is the law of gravity, or perhaps the law of buoyancy (if there is such a thing) not applicable to Him? Being that He is God, He chose to identify with us, never the less, He isn’t constrained by many of the laws that we appear to be constrained to. His deity then, must be the difference in determining whether one sinks or one floats—perhaps it is not even His deity, perhaps it is the fact that He had no sin to weight Him down, but we do.

There are times that Jesus seems so far from us—just as He does while walking on the water. But what the most fascinating thing is—He invites us to walk with Him. He invites Peter to walk on water, which Peter does, as long as he keeps his eye on Jesus. No sooner that he looks at the waves and wind, he takes his eye of Jesus and begins to sink.

Jesus invites us to walk on water, to experience His deity, to become like Him for a moment—a preview of what is to come for us. Didn’t you realize that? He invites us to become like Him. It’s fascinating really. Peter spoke about it,

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire”—2 Peter 1:3-4.

Walking on water is a preview of what God has prepared for us—when we become like Him (1 John 3:2). The Son of God became man, so that man might become like God. We can’t comprehend what eternity will be like, but we do know that now,

“…we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known”—1 Corinthians 13:12.

What a day of rejoicing that will be! The day when we will be in the presence of our sweet Savior-Shepherd, who laid down His life for us! And who enabled us to spend eternity in His presence, delighting in who He is, in everlasting, rapturous joy! Amen.