"Come".

When I was younger, and my mom needed me to do something, she would call out, “Michelle, come please.” I would respond, “I’m coming,” but sometimes I didn’t move because whatever I was doing or watching then had my attention. After a few moments, I would hear her call again, “Michelle, come.” If I were really engrossed in my activity, I would stand up but not move towards her. Instead, I would call back, “Mom, I’m coming.” After another few moments, if I had not reached her, with a stern voice, she would call out to me just one more time, “Michelle, come.” Before I could respond, she would add, “And, stop coming, and come.”

“Stop coming, and come.”

The Bible records another person who was called – Peter. One day, Peter and the other disciples were in a boat on the lake in the midst of a windy situation, and something caught their attention. They saw a figure walking toward them on the water. They were terrified because they thought it was a ghost, and they cried out in fear. But this wasn’t a ghost. It was their leader, Jesus.

Matthew 14: 27- 30 reads, “But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. 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!” 31 Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

Peter walked on water, and what a move that was! But, neither the water nor the wind, which distracted Peter and caused him to fear and begin to sink, can be compared to the one who called Him, Jesus.

Jesus had already called Peter to be His disciple, to lay down his life to follow Him closely every day, but that didn’t stop Jesus from calling again. With the simple word, “Come,” Jesus called Peter again to Himself. And that, dear reader, is the same for you and me today. We are called to follow Jesus, and in that lifelong journey, Jesus will continue to call us to come to Him – to draw closer and closer and go deeper and deeper in our relationship with Him.

When my mom called me, I sometimes didn’t want to stop doing what I was doing. At other times, what kept me from going to her was not what I was leaving behind but what I thought I was going to. Was it a chore? Was it something I didn’t want to do? Was it a task that was going to take a long time? Yet, even after a short dawdle, I would go to my mom, not because of what I would be asked to do, but because of who called me.

As we journey with God, the situations or the “what” can change - in this instance with Peter, it was getting out of the boat and walking on water; in another instance, it was casting out demons and healing the sick; in another instance, it was coming out of the grave after being dead for days. Yes, the what changes, but the who – the One who does the calling, never does.

It is Jesus calling. He is calling us to Himself. And His call remains the same. “Will you come to me?” Will you deepen your trust in Me? Will you keep your eyes on me in every changing scene of life? Will you embrace my love for you and let me lead you? Will you walk with me?”

It is Jesus calling.

While going to Jesus, Peter looked at the wind and measured his ability to walk against the wind’s ability to toss. He realized that he was lacking and then began to sink.

In our I-focused world, we can think that all Peter had to do to stay afloat was to continue to believe in himself, his ability, and his skills – even though, as far as we know, He had never walked on water before.

But, not believing in yourself is not the issue here; instead, not leveling up your faith in the One who called you is.

When Jesus calls us out into the unknown, we often proceed in our own strength, with our wisdom, with our ability and skills – in effect, we are saying, “Lord, I’m coming.”

But He doesn’t want us to be constantly “coming.” He wants us to come, and that requires trusting in His ability, His Word, and His Spirit to embolden us to do what is needed. We need to trust in Jesus to come to Jesus. We can’t even manage the walk on our own!

With that simple instruction, “Come,” we receive permission to explore what being in a relationship with Jesus can produce in our lives. We can enter the realm of the impossible and do something we haven’t done before because, with Him, all things are possible. We don’t have to be afraid. We can always go to Him because He who calls us is faithful, and He will do it!