Genesage
“Walking on….,water.”
(Chap 1:5)
“Were you thinking of me?”
A voice traveled softly across the water. Its gentle tone carried to the ears of the person who had just washed his face in it. As refreshing as the water was, the voice was instantly recognized.
Sputtering with surprise the reply came,
“Yes”
Hardly visible, not too far from the distant shore, an outline of someone was walking towards Eben from across the water. Walking on water as if it was the most natural thing to do. Natural for some maybe, but certainly extraordinary to Eben.
Smiling Eben thought to himself,
I’ll never get used to that.
He watched at what could have been a ghost come walking towards him. Fascinated he stared as the person approached. Looking down he noted how each foot was placed in the water displacing the liquid.
Every step almost forming a footprint in the water.
Some people could leave footprints in the sand, only the Son of God would leave them in the water. The water hid his trail as soon as he walked on.
But it was obvious to Eben, only one would be walking on water to him.
When each foot was lifted there was obviously water being splashed; but the depth should have almost drowned the person walking calmly across it. He had to be walking on top of it..,
Eben was obviously focused on the thoughts of the water. For some reason Eben was overly focused on the water.
The wet water.
Looking at the figure in the middle of the lake, without a boat, wasn’t something Eben really wanted to do. Eben was well aware of drowning. He never learned how to swim. Looking at someone in the middle reminded him of that.
I’ll never get…,
“…used to it”
Jesus added speaking out loud, reading his mind.
Eben laughed out loud. It was just like Jesus to do that; read his mind. As awe inspiring as the Son of God could be, there were times like these when Eben enjoyed that it was just, Jesus. Jesus and he himself alone.
“Come up here”
Jesus said,
Last time I heard that one I wound up in the highest heaven…,
thought Eben to himself though he might as well as said it out loud.
and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
Jesus had a habit of surprising personal expectations. Today was no exception. Just when you thought you had him in a box of your own understanding, he taught you origami. And the box became a butterfly.
There was no limiting what Jesus could do, or would do. He would always surprise you out of complacency.
He called to Eben from the middle of the lake.
He was still walking towards him, but for Eben to ‘come up here’ he was going to have to meet Jesus somewhere in the middle. Somewhere in the middle of the lake.
The “Here” was where HE, Jesus was, not where Eben would have preferred to meet him. Like on dry land. Middle of the Lake?, not exactly what Eben had in mind.
The wet lake; the lake full of water; the cold lake; the one Eben was more familiar with being on….if he was in a boat. A solid boat or even a raft, maybe a canoe would do.
Any of those would be fine if they had a life preserver. But on just the water?...well…Eben did not know how to swim.
Still, Eben got up and promptly started walking to meet his Messiah in the middle of the lake. He knew he needed to learn this; he knew he had tried before; he knew he wanted to learn this; so gently humming the Song of Limmud he stepped forward gingerly….,
I will walk where you have…,
Before he could say or think “walk” there was a loud splash.
Eben wasn’t swimming, nor was he walking on water. Eben couldn’t swim which was obvious now, but he probably couldn’t drown either. He sure couldn’t walk on water, so there He was flat on his face in shallow water.
Shallow water that he had fallen forward in. He had barely walked a few feet, “on the water” till something gave way, or someone.
That someone was obviously Eben.
Still near shore when he went down instead of up, he started spluttering and giggling; rolling over on his back. Hard to imagine an old man laughing and lying there. Lying flat on his back now in humor all wet….,
but that was Eben.
Flat on his back looking up, all wet, laughing.
