On the 10th day of our Christmas fun we found that Elfie had rounded up all of our shoes and seemed to be wanting to take a walk. Ian decided that he did not appreciate Elfie choosing his shoes to sit in……..so now Ian is mad at Elfie. Oh the problems of a 4-year-old. This mornings scripture comes from Mathew 14:22-33:
22 Right away Jesus made the disciples get into the boat. He had them go on ahead of him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Then he sent the crowd away. 23 After he had sent them away, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone. 24 The boat was already a long way from land. It was being pounded by the waves because the wind was blowing against it.
25 Shortly before dawn, Jesus went out to the disciples. He walked on the lake. 26 They saw him walking on the lake and were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said. And they cried out in fear.
27 Right away Jesus called out to them, “Be brave! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, is it you?” Peter asked. “If it is, tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” Jesus said.
So Peter got out of the boat. He walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when Peter saw the wind, he was afraid. He began to sink. He cried out, “Lord! Save me!”
31 Right away Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “Your faith is so small!” he said. “Why did you doubt me?”
32 When they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those in the boat worshiped Jesus. They said, “You really are the Son of God!”
After I read this through the boys were like, “okay mom, good story are we done now?” I told them I did think they quite heard exactly what happened in the middle of the story, so I read it again. Still no reaction. I said, “WOW can you believe that He walked ON TOP of the water?!?” Johnathan replied, “no mommy, He walked IN the water to the boat.” Ah-ha! Now I had them. I had to explain it a few more times while the boys tilted their heads and looked completely puzzled. “How did He do that?” asked Ian. Now that they understood that Jesus was walking ON the water rather than IN the water they were intrigued. I asked them if they would be like Peter and if they would get out and walk to Jesus as well? Johnathan’s reply was “yes I would, but I would never stop looking at Jesus because I don’t want to go under the water and die!” Well Johanthan, I think you have the right idea! Once the boys saw that Jesus was big enough to walk on top of the water, they were sold. Why would you ever doubt someone who could walk on water? Why would you ever need to look away? Or want to for that matter? Yet every day we do it so easily, naturally really. We have to actively and intentionally focus our eyes on Jesus in the midst of this crazy, stress-centered life.
I am learning so much through this study with my boys. Or maybe I should say that I am re-learning. These are all things that I have known, grew up knowing in Sunday school and church. But to hear them all again and teach them to my boys, to see the amazement in their eyes and hear their faith is utterly overwhelming. I believe there is a reason that the Bible tells us to have child-like faith. Matthew 18 says:
2 Jesus called a little child over to him. He had the child stand among them. 3 Jesus said, “What I’m about to tell you is true. You need to change and become like little children. If you don’t, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Anyone who takes the humble position of this child is the most important in the kingdom of heaven.
And one of my new favorites Psalm 8:2:
You have made sure that children
and infants praise you.
Their praise is a wall
that stops the talk of your enemies.
Maybe tonight we all need to become a little more like the children that we care for. Maybe instead of brushing them off as an item on our to-do lists, or another stress to add to our day, maybe we should stop for a while and watch them….listen to them…..teach them. For as we teach we will find ourselves learning so much more than we thought possible. The Bible gives us a great weapon to use against our enemy. Become like children, praise your God……stop the talk of your enemies.
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