Love Got All Over!

I wonder if Peter knew how big of a deal it would be for ages to come when he carelessly, daringly got out of the boat and tried to walk on the water to Jesus. 

He probably wasn't thinking that his actions would surely turn into valuable lessons for others, including a church that hadn't yet even been born.

He was probably thinking:  "Man, the rest of these guys are never going to let me live this one down," hoping they'd soon forget his cries for help as his feet left the surface and went plummeting into the depths of the water. 

But no one forgot.  It's a great story!  Thanks Peter for not thinking about all the risks--embarrassment and possibly even drowning--before going on your 5 step adventure.  Thanks for not doing the smart, wise, well thought out thing.

Of course there's great value in wisdom and thinking before we act, but not always! 

 Yesterday, Horizons got out of the boat and attempted to walk on the water to Jesus.  Unlike Peter, instead of taking a few steps and sinking, we made it pretty far!

It was as though it actually worked--just not nearly as well as when Jesus did it! 

We got out, went into the community, and shared as much love with others as we could.  We picked up trash, handed out water, listened to people, gave away vouchers for concessions, and simply learned the names and stories of those who have lived hard lives.  Sure, our numbers were a little lower than usual.  Some things didn't go quite as planned; a couple connections were missed.  Some struggled to find significant value in the day.

BUT, it worked!!  The only difference was that rather than walking on the surface of the water, we managed to splash our way to Jesus in knee deep water, still finding something solid to stand on, but surely not a neat trip. 

But it worked!  We made it!  I received several e-mails and messages yesterday about the miraculous things that happened, conversations that were had, and love that got poured out.  It worked!

And although it may not have been nearly as pretty as we'd hoped, in all that splashing around, we surely still got a whole bunch of love all over the place--even if, like Peter, we had/have no idea how big of a deal it was!

More to come!

Jason <><