It was when Peter became...
Illustration
It was when Peter became afraid that he began to sink. (One might wonder if this was the incident when Jesus decided to give the nickname "the Rock" to Simon.) Fear led to panic. Peter lost sight of Jesus and all he could see were the waves engulfing him. Fear distorts everything. Phobias are distorted reality. When a person is afraid of snakes, every stick on the shadowy path begins wiggling. A fear of heights makes the four feet down a stepladder look like a deep canyon. When fear snares a person, it is as though one has been thrown into a hall of mirrors, and nothing appears as it should. Fat becomes thin; tall becomes short. The straight becomes wavy. Fear interferes with clear perception, straight thinking, and coping with even simple problems. An Arab tale relates that Pestilence once met a caravan on the road to Baghdad. "Why," asked the caravan leader, "must you go to Baghdad?" "To take 5,000 lives," was the response. Later, the caravan met Pestilence again. The leader angrily challenged Pestilence, "You deceived me. Instead of 5,000 lives you took 50,000." Pestilence responded, "I only took 5,000 and not one more. It was fear that killed the rest."
-- Olson
-- Olson
