An odd fascination of our species is to walk on a vaulted structure covered in splinters to be bound by a railing as we gaze at the water without ever entering. We tend to do that a lot in life. We lean on the railing and stare into the horizon, merely to miss that the only thing that keeps us from moving forward is the limited path we chose to walk. We often confuse safety with predictability, and we limit where we could go by staying away from each obstacle.
I look at others and wonder how they reached the point in their life where they felt successful. I have pondered the reality that we are left continuously chasing satisfaction what we will never find. Think about the advice we get daily. Do not limit yourself. Expand your horizons. Take a job to get to your next job. Then your next job. Then when you get to your dream job, what is there to do? We keep pursuing remedial tasks because no matter what we hope to obtain, it will never be enough.
Death is the railing to the boardwalk of eternity. It binds us in a false perception of safety. We don't jump; we don't die. We stay confined to what we see, and we know our chances of getting hurt remain minimal.
Yet, there is something in us that longs for more. We hate people around us that could never give us what we desperately yearned for our whole lives. I have hated those I have loved and lost. But why? Because I no longer get to enjoy the satisfaction of the care and support of someone I considered to be of more value than anyone else. I bound myself in a trap that one source of human love could not fulfill. I was left feeling unlovable because I was not willing to put my toes in the water. I was unwilling to face drowning to see what was on the horizon.
We aren't so different from Peter. We see what is on the horizon and believe anything is possible. But we let reality overwhelm our deeprooted desire to become something more. We elect to stay on the pier because we know we cannot walk on water. We stay secure without ever seeing what we could become.
We long to be fed and be satisfied. We hunger and thirst. Yet we stand on wood and throw dental floss with a hook into the water hoping to get something to bite. However, the horizon has food and water that is boundless. But are we willing to go over the railing?
We can be so much more than what we are now. We can walk on water. We can be satisfied. We can feel loved. And we can be free from the boundaries that deceive us into believing we are safe. Why is the pier so crowded? Because we are all afraid. It seems more reliable to stand on the pier, but mans construction won't last forever.
To be able to move forward, I have to take the risk of being hated. Being rejected. Being told I am not enough. I have to risk being selfless. I have to risk losing love. And I have to risk being condemned. Because the pier has become too crowded. Nobody seems satisfied. Everybody wants more.
Instead of imprisoning myself with bitterness, may God guide me to forgiveness. As I peer over the railing, may God catch me when I jump. When the wind comes as I walk, may I never turn back, but focus my gaze on Him. It is safer to drown in the waters of eternity than to return to the pier of the unrighteous. Maybe I jump alone. Maybe brothers and sisters come with me. But as the sun peers over the horizon, may our endless pursuit never cease. For God has given us a hope that extends beyond the construct of time. So may that be enough for me to go forward.