I. What if the Boatmen Had Thought to Praise Him?
What if they’d thought to praise Him?
Might Christ’s followers in the boat
Perhaps have been commended
For keeping it afloat?
Instead, they woke the Master
With rebukes like “You don’t care!”
And “How can you sleep while we sink?
It simply isn’t fair!”
What if they’d thrown a praise party
When first they saw the storm
Begin to rage around them
Like a yellow jacket swarm?
Might they have scared the devils
That were stirring up the sea
And threatening to drown them
In that lake of Galilee?
And what if they’d praised God
When they saw Jesus walk on water
Instead of crying “Ghost!”
Like any fearful son or daughter
Whose trust in God lasts for a day
But in the night grows dim?
What if in every thought and deed
They’d sought to honor Him?
What if they had, like Peter,
Dared to step outside the boat,
Declaring with great boldness,
“Lord, you make my feet to float!”?
Imagine Jesus’ pleasure
As he watched their budding faith
Spring to life in awesome ways.
But no, they feared a wraith.
II. What if the Farmers Had Welcomed Him?
And what if those who saw the man
Who once was demonized
Clothed, sitting, and in his right mind –
What if they’d recognized
The wonders God had done for him?
What if great joy they’d voiced?
Instead of begging him to leave,
What if they had rejoiced?
The farmers in that last tale
Would have surely been commended
Had they not focused on the way
Their lives had been upended.
But when they lost their livelihood,
They forfeited their joy,
Rejecting Christ’s deliverance
For creatures that annoy.
Yet who expects a pig
To sing a happy worship song?
But when we offer praise to God,
It makes our frail faith strong.
Based on events recorded in Matthew 8:23-34 and Matthew 14:23-32
Signs, Wonders, Miracles 