Recently I was reading the story about Peter's denial of Jesus Christ.  There was a phrase that caught my attention.  The Bible says that Peter followed Jesus "from a distance." I thought about that.  Now before you think I'm going to go bashing Peter, give me a minute. 

What I was thinking about was why Peter followed Jesus "from a distance."  His concerns were real.  His fears justified.  He loved Jesus with all his heart, but he saw the potential for pain, suffering, and judgment if he got too close.  The problem was not his thinking or his heart.  The problem was his faith.  Did he still trust Jesus to take care of him even when it didn't appear that Jesus could take care of himself?  Once again Peter was out of the boat (he still followed Jesus when others had completely left), in the storm of his life (with everyone around talking about the arrest and possible execution of Jesus), and had his eyes focused on the situation instead of the master of the situation.  Ultimately, his "following at a distance" got him into trouble and lead to his failure.