The Revelation!
The following verse thrust the concept of grace to the forefront of my mind. Yes, it’s from Judeo-Christian Scriptures, yet not in the sense of doctrinal form but of the experiential substance which is ultimately shapeless.
I start the article with the Bible because this is where the concept of grace was revealed to me…where it finds you, I cannot say. What I can suggest, however, is that you do your darndest to be open to recieve it. Which is, of course, a grace in itself!
(Matthew 14:22-32)
As soon as the people were fed, Jesus told his disciples to get into their boat and to go to the other side of the lake while he stayed behind to dismiss the people.
After the crowds dispersed, Jesus went up into the hills to pray. And as night fell he was there praying alone with God.
But the disciples, who were now in the middle of the lake, ran into trouble, for their boat was tossed about by the high winds and heavy seas.
At about four o’clock in the morning, Jesus came to them, walking on the waves! When the disciples saw him walking on top of the water, they were terrified and screamed, “A ghost!”
Then Jesus said, “Be brave and don’t be afraid. I am here!” Peter shouted out, “Lord, if it’s really you, then have me join you on the water!” “Come and join me,” Jesus replied.
So Peter stepped out onto the water and began to walk toward Jesus. But when he realized how high the waves were, he became frightened and started to sink.
“Save me, Lord!” he cried out. Jesus immediately stretched out his hand and lifted him up and said, “What little faith you have! Why would you let doubt win?”
And the very moment they both stepped into the boat, the raging wind ceased.
“Why Would You Let Doubt Win?”
How could one not? When considering the very real perils of sailing the storm of life, it is often immensely difficult to move beyond the perceived realm of reason to one of a unreasonably blind faith.
Reason employs doubt as a mode of self-preservation, faith, on the other hand, is frequently a staunch opponent of such intellect. Step out of the boat, in the middle of the sea, in the midst of a storm, to attempt to walk on water?
Surely this is no reasonable request!
However, upon deeper investigation and seemingly without explanation, we can pinpoint the times in our lives when walking on water, against our sound reasoning, was the very thing that preserved our lives!
This is not to undermine the faculty of reason – this I would never even consider. Rather, it’s to merely this:
“The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing.”
-Blaise Pascal
Yes, I believe we can conclude that our faith is a reasonable one.
Timmy G. (2019)
TimmyG@e-RecoveryReview.com
