Doubt part 2

If Peter can doubt...so can I.

There is a story in the bible that recounts Peter and the disciples in a fishing boat when a storm kicks up, in the storm they saw a figure walking towards them on the water. Jesus was walking on the waves. Uncertain it was Jesus- Peter asked him to prove himself and to have Peter come out on the water with him...Jesus responded "come" and Peter almost without thinking climbed out onto the water.

Then a few moments later Peter notices the wind and the waves and he starts to go under...Jesus pulls him up and gets him back in the boat. Peter's faith had failed him...Peter had doubt. Surrounded by the environment, the wind, the rain and the surging waves even with Jesus standing right in front of him Peter's faith faltered.

Perhaps the lesson here is Peter took his eyes off Jesus and noticed his situation. Had he stayed focused on Jesus his faith might not have slipped and he would not realize he was mortal and begin to sink...

My point is Jesus built the church on Peter (who doubted in a big way in this example) and he lived, ate and spoke to the physical Jesus. I can't begin to explain why "blind faith" in the midst of some of the worst crap in my life doesn't work for me.

Peter doubted someone he knew personally and saw with his own eyes everyday. How can I be expected to muster more than the least of Peter's doubt two thousand years later?

Doubt. Faith. Uncertainty. It's all relative.

We don't know, we can't be sure and the bible is full of examples of human failings and misgivings and God still used these people. But wrestling with everyday struggles and believing in things and forces you can't see don't fix the problem at hand. Doubt isn't unbelief, it's uncertainty and they are two completely different things. It's apples and oranges...

Maybe it's just human nature.

I'm human. I'm flawed by design...

Therefore I doubt. It's hard wired from the factory.



...I guess.