Peter Got His God Goggles

Give it up for Erwin McMannus, the author of the barbarian book (The Barbarian Way) I spoke so much about a few weeks back. He has managed to offer me a new perspective on a verse I have seen many times in the past. You probably know it too. Read, if you will?

Then Peter got down out of the boat,

walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and,

beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"

Matthew 14:30

I have read that passage so many times that I am almost ashamed to admit that I never noticed this very obvious fact. Apparently, Peter had the uncanny ability to "saw the wind". I can only imagine that I have over looked that because I assumed that it could only mean that he saw the effects of the wind. They where surely trying to indicate that the waves and rain and tossing and heaving and other such activity was present because of the wind. But, I decided to do a little extra curricular work on this one. Seems the Greek word for wind in this passage is the same word used Matthew 14:24 to say the boat was "buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it." We also see this word used for wind in Matthew 14:32 where we learn that "when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down."
So, having done this little word study I was sufficiently convinced that when they said wind here they meant air moving from here to there wind, not merely the combined observable effects of the wind.
I though this was interesting for this reason. Who sees the wind? I have never seen wind. I have seen leaves blow in the wind. I have seen trees bend because of the wind. I have even felt the wind push on my body. In some towns I have even smelled stank being carried around by the wind. But never have I ever seen wind.
Seems that two pretty amazing things happened "not" in that boat that night. In fact, there where really three pretty different type things happen that night. First, the disciples some how managed to see Jesus. Typically at night, during a storm, in a era before electricity, things are very hard to see. Second, and probably most obvious, Peter walked on water. Of course, so did Jesus, but He does have that God thing going for Him. Finally, in all my shame, Peter saw wind!
That is amazing to me. Seeing wind, who does that? Well, what hit me as the truly amazing thing here is this. When we approach God, get out there and put all our safety and hope in things that are not boats, we see things different. Peter saw God and His creation in an amazing way that night. Peter stepped on water that held his wait and some how managed to see moving air. It is a little easier to understand how He got scared. All or a sudden he saw creation in a completely new way. It is quite possible that for a brief moment he saw things the way God sees things. It freaked him out big time. The next thing he knew he was sinking and Jesus was pulling him up out of the storm.
Jesus was teaching them, and us by proxy, some thing that night. He could have very easily stopped the storm before he started walking out to the boat. I cannot imagine walking on a storm tossed sea is a particularly easy task. I could imagine it would be like walking on a swimming pool full of jello during an earthquake that is happening during a hurricane.
The closer we get to Christ the better we understand the way he sees things. Not to mention we get the opportunity to do amazing things; fun, cool, memorable, and scary as all craziness things. Imagine the overwhelming exhilaration and fear coursing through Peter’s body. Did I fail to mention that Peter asked Jesus to call him out on the water? Oh yes, the whole thing was Peter’s idea, “Lord, if it's you tell me to come to you on the water." Jesus said come on and I can only imagine that Peter was never the same.