Gospel according to Bug Bunny?

How about an odd parallel just to kick things into gear?  Peter, disciple/apostle of Jesus and Wile E Coyote. No, I do not believe that Peter had a permanent customer account with ACME (if you do not know the reference, watch some bugs bunny cartoons). When Wile E has his eyes set firmly on his target (typically the road runner), that is all that matters.  So much so, that he actually walks right off the cliff and finds himself standing on thin air - which works fine until he looks around, realizes where he is and listens to that llittle voice in his head that tells him this is impossible and then down he goes *thump*.

In Matthew 14 (22-32), Peter - with his eyes firmly upon Jesus - steps (willingly) over the side of the boat and onto the water.  All is fine until that little voice in his head tells him this is impossible, he listens to it and takes his eyes off Jesus, and down he goes *blud blub blub*.

A critical difference is that Wile E never realizes where he is at first.  Peter, on the other hand, spent most of his life as a fisherman.  He was quite aware of not only what a storm was (which they were in at the time) but also what happens when one gets out of a boat in the middle of the lake - they sink.  So Peter knew what he was doing and where he was going but, he saw Jesus out there and believed he could come to Him if He said he could.  But those voices kicked in, telling him (Peter) to look around at the circumstances and what he could see - that this was impossible - and he put his eyes upon those and off of Jesus.  *blub blub blub*

The problem was, was it was NOT impossible.  After all, Jesus was standing on the water and secondly, Peter had been doing the same.  Jesus gets after Peter for his lack of faith, but Peter did walk on the surface of the water, so where did he fall at?  Simply, he choose to believe what he saw over what Jesus said was possible.  Jesus did not expect Peter to pretend the water was frozen or that the storm was not there, but rather, to walk on in spite of what he could see around him.  We are told to walk  by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).  The world around us will almost always tells us things are not possible but God says with Him ALL things ARE possible (Matthew 19:26).  What we see, hear and think we know do not matter at all - it is what God has said (and says) that counts in every possible imaginable area, situation and circumstance.

So if God has said something to you, take Him at His word and believe it regardless of what you see around you or whom says what is or is not possible.