Last night I read the story of Peter walking on the water. Its a well-known passage about faith, and I've read it hundreds of times before, but this time I was reading my 'New Living Translation' that adds one little word that the NIV version doesn't have, and it makes all the difference to see faith in a new light.
The NLT says, "31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said.“Why did you doubt me?”
The NIV says, 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said,“why did you doubt?”
When I read the bible I always imagine myself in the story, as if Jesus is speaking to me directly, and to be honest, the NIV version of this verse makes me feel like a worm! I hear condemnation, and feel failure for my lack of ability to do as Jesus does - in this case, walk on the water.
When I read the same verse in the NLT, its no longer all about me, it makes me suddenly aware of the effect Peter's fear had on Jesus. The NLT Jesus seems to take Peter's lack of faith very personally: 'Why did you doubt me?' Jesus seems offended, even hurt, that Peter could entertain the idea that Jesus would let him drown. The verse is no longer about me, its about Him.
Faith is personal. Not just to me, but to Jesus too.
It got me thinking. Do I live like Jesus is affected by my faith or lack thereof? I'm so self-absorbed that I rarely stop to think how my thoughts are affecting my Maker. Is He hurt when I act like I'm not sure of His love for me or those around me?
I totally forget how I can make God glad or sad. For some reason, its hard to shift the belief that because God doesn't change, and He knows the outcome already, it doesn't affect Him if we get it right or get it wrong, trust Him or doubt Him. He is Almighty God, and it seems a little blasphemous to suggest I can make Him feel something, because it makes God seem weak. But is it really weakness to be affected by others? Yes, God doesn't change, but that doesn't mean He doesn't feel.
Even after being a Christian all my life, my perception of God is still a little stoic. God is more like a statue in my mind than a Father who runs to meet His long-lost son with longing, and rejoicing, or a Friend who reaches out His hand when I'm sinking, and is offended by my panic when I find myself tossed around by the wind and waves of life.
How I respond to life matters to Him, and maybe not in the way I think it does - maybe not to be graded as if I was in school - but maybe it matters to Him because he cares, and because He cares, He feels.
No comments:
Post a Comment