There’s a popular bumper sticker that reads: “Gravity: It’s not just a good idea. It’s the law!” Few things are as consistent as gravity. It’s the ever-faithful “Great Tug” that pulls matter towards the earth’s center. But, Christ defied this tug when He took a stroll on the classically turbulent Galilean sea. Natural law doesn’t usually permit us casual walks across liquid substances. However, that did not stop Jesus from trekking over a mile across the water’s surface to visit His disciples on their boat in the middle of a raging storm.

After the shock of seeing Jesus on the water (and hysterically assuming he was a ghost), Peter spoke up. Courageously, he offered to join Christ on the water – not as a swimmer, but as a walker. I can imagine Jesus smiling as He invited, “Come!” (Matthew 14:22-33) So, Peter came. For a thrilling moment, he was doing it! He was walking on the water towards Jesus. But “when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid” (v.30) and began to sink. What happened? Peter took his eyes off Christ – for just a moment – and the Great Tug pulled him under.

Can you relate? Like Peter, our challenge is to walk with Christ despite the distractions raging all around us. A thousand things in our lives compete against Christ for our attention. It’s the world’s “Great Tug” relentlessly pulling our focus towards the earthly, rather than the heavenly. It magnifies the affairs of life as the only reality; but there’s much more to life than the “wave” we immediately see. With every decision, we are building character and planting seeds for life and eternity.

Career, advancement and financial stability are important, but not eternal. Service, character and relationships, however, are weighted with lasting merit. Ultimately, either temporal values or eternal values will take priority in your life. One will become your focus and foundation for decision-making. As in Peter’s case on the water, you can only successfully focus on one at a time – the earthly or the heavenly. If you take your eyes off Christ for even a moment, the Great Tug begins to pull down your vision. Keep looking up - the choices you make today will ‘sink or swim’ in eternity.

Do not let the squeeze of life pressures choke your holy focus – there’s too much at stake. Become excited about the life and eternity you can build through surrender to Christ. Make a daily commitment to prioritize the spiritual, because this world will tug and tug in determined opposition. It has a gravity all of it’s own. But, as Christ demonstrated, even the most determined forces can be overcome. When our eyes are fixed on Him, we stay ‘above the water’…and out of trouble.

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (I Corinthians 4:18, NIV)

Liz Miller lives in Daphne with her husband Matt and son, Logan. She looks forward to responding to your thoughts, prayer requests and guest speaker invitations, please write to millerfam3@hotmail.com.