Childlike Maturity: Fearlessness - Matthew 14:22-33
I guess I can thank Joshua’s meteorological abilities for this
morning’s illustration. It has happened
twice this summer. Joshua, out of the
clear blue, has said, “It’s fixing to storm.”
The second time was yesterday, while we were at the zoo. Anita, Natalie, and I had already seen the
clouds, but they looked to be miles away and going around us. Joshua made his comment, and I looked at
Anita and we said to Natalie, “Did you hear what Joshua said? Remember last
time, we better get going if we’re going to see anything else.”
What was last time, it was July 6th at Wrightsville
Beach. We had driven down to
Wrightsville Beach for a simple day trip and had been enjoying a beautiful day
and the beach. There had not been a
cloud in the sky. We had taken our lunch
so we didn’t have to worry about anything but sitting, swimming, and playing. A couple of us had gotten a little burnt on
places that simply were missed with the sunscreen and we decided, maybe another
hour, and we’d leave. Joshua, with not a
cloud to be seen, said, “It’s fixing to storm.”
We laughed it off and he and Natalie headed down to the water. I told Anita that I was going to gather a few
things and take them on to the vehicle, and then go down to the water
myself. We’d leave the chairs, towels,
and umbrellas so we could dry off. About
ten minutes later, as I was taking the ice chest to the Toyota, I heard the
first rumble of thunder. By the time I
got it loaded and was back on the beach, the rest of them were packing up. Before we could finish getting the chairs up,
a light rain started in…twenty minutes after Joshua’s comment, Davey and I were
standing out in the pouring rain, as wet as if we had just come out of the
ocean…almost everything inside the Toyota was nearly as wet.
And just to let you know that sometimes it is important to listen
to children, within twenty minutes of Joshua’s comment yesterday, a band of
rain showers so heavy that it was like someone had overturned a full bucket in
the clouds hit the zoo, followed by several rounds of thunder. You can’t ask him about the weather, but if
Joshua tells you “it’s fixing to storm,” I’d seek some shelter.
Listening to children…well, for Jesus it was telling his followers
that they must become like children if they wanted to have any shot at entering
the Kingdom of Heaven. We’ve considered
that statement for the last three weeks, and will conclude our series today.
We know already two traits of children that are involuntary for
them, but that we must voluntarily take up as adults are that children, by
their nature of children are growing and dependent.
We have to realize that while we may not be physically growing any
more, at least not vertically, that we can never claim to be full-grown
spiritually, that is, unless we can look in a spiritual mirror and say, “I look
just like Jesus.” If we have not reached
Jesus’ state of perfection, then we must still strive to grow in our
relationship with God…to do anything else is to cut off our relationship with
God.
We also have to realize that we are dependent. We cannot effectively go through life as a
Christian claiming to be independent and not needing anything or anyone
else. God created us to be in connection
with others. When God looked at Adam in
the Garden of Eden, despite how He had called everything to that point “good,”
He saw Adam alone and said, “It is not good that man should be alone…I will
create for man “a helper as his partner.”[i] God created woman to complete man, to keep
man from being alone…we are created to be in relationship and dependent upon
one another to remind us that ultimately, we are dependent upon God.
We have learned that we are called to be generous…to basically be
willing to give over to God everything we have and all that we are, that He may
do His ministry through us and gifts and abilities. Why should we not be willing to give to God
our complete selves, from our purses and billfolds, to our very lives…for they
come from Him and belong to Him anyway.
We have also learned that we are called to be forgiving. We are reminded that if we desire to be
forgiven by God, then we must be willing to forgive
those who have wronged us. We must have
a playground type attitude that the past is just that, the past, and today
presents a new beginning…just as God has offered that same thing to us through
the blood of Christ…as we have freely received, we are to freely give.
All of these are ways that we grow into childlike
maturity—becoming as children, allowing God to remake us and ready us for His
Kingdom. Now I hear you asking, “what
does Joshua’s ability to forecast the weather have to do with fearlessness or
anything relating to our childlike maturity?”
Well, actually, it only has an indirect relation. It was not his forecasting that was the key,
it was while I was loading the vehicle at Wrightsville Beach that I saw
it. There was a young girl, I’d say
maybe seven-years-old, max. She was
walking along the side of the beach access.
When she had started on the wall, it was only a foot or less off the
ground, her mom had no issue with that, but as we got to the point between the
dunes, the picture changed. She was a
good twenty feet or more above the ground as she continued to walk the wall. Her mom pleaded with her to get down, but she
continued on, as if there was no danger whatsoever. A fall might not have killed her, but if she
slipped or stumbled, a broken arm or leg was almost guaranteed. The young girl was fearless and kept telling
her mom she would be alright.
I saw that fearless attitude in Joshua this summer when we were on
vacation. We were at the pool and
Joshua’s favorite pool activity was to jump in, feet first, into water that was
a good foot over his head, regardless of the fact that when he first started,
he had never swam a lick. In fact he had
never been in water over his head without a life-jacket or his “floaties” on
his arms. However, just as fearless as
that little girl walking the wall, Joshua would stand, get ready, and jump.
What was the key? Why were
they able to act without fear? The
little girl’s mom was holding her hand…Joshua was jumping towards me in the
pool. They both knew that someone was
there that would catch hold of them if they fell, and would pull them up if
they were drowning. They acted without
fear because their faith and focus was on the one who could save them.
In the Gospel of Matthew we see Peter act with childlike maturity
to begin with. Jesus had been teaching,
and it was time for He and the disciples to have a moment of rest. Jesus wanted to be alone so He actually sent
the disciples on ahead in the boat.
Jesus dismissed the crowds and went up the mountain to pray. While Jesus was praying, it had grown dark,
evening had set upon them and a storm was tossing the boat to and fro. As dawn approached, Jesus decided to make His
way to the disciples, and began walking across the lake. One of the disciples must have noticed and
then got the others to look, and they were terrified. Through the storm, there was a figure making
its way toward them. They huddled
together in fear, afraid their end was near, for a ghost was about to get them.
Then Jesus spoke into their fear, trying to calm their emotional
and spiritual storm, and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter responded, “Lord, if it is you, command
me to come to you on the water.” Jesus
told him to come, and Peter stood up, stepped on to the water, and to
everyone’s (save Jesus’) amazement, Peter did not sink, but began walking on
the water, heading straight toward Jesus.
Peter acted in unbelievable faith with his focus upon Jesus. With his focus on Jesus, the One he knew
could save him. Peter did the
unbelievable and incredibly dangerous…walking on the water—not on smooth as
glass water, but on water in the midst of a raging storm. Like a child, he focused not on the danger,
but on the One who could save him.
Suddenly, though, Peter did what too many of us grown-ups do…he
took his eyes off of the his safety net, and instead focused on the
threat. We do not know what caused Peter
to look away, maybe it was a strong gust of wind that blew his hair across his
face, maybe it was one of the other disciples hollering “look out,” but Peter
took his eyes off of Jesus and looked toward the storm, and that is when he
began to fear, his trust no longer in Jesus, but overwhelmed at how much
greater the storm was than himself.
Childlike maturity when it comes to fear rests on having that
spoken or unspoken connection to the person who can save you. Remember the story of David and Goliath, how
that little boy faced off against this giant of a man…author Max Lucado says it
was because David’s eyes were not fixed on Goliath, but instead fixed upon the
almighty power of God.[ii]
My friends, that is how we live with David, Peter, Joshua, the
little girl’s kind of fearlessness…focusing our attention not on the danger
around us, but instead focusing our attention on God.
We are going to face some things that will terrify many
folks. We are going to face things that
have some folks cowering in fear, being a nervous wreck, or afraid for their
lives. We will face giants, we will face
deep water, we will face walls that seem to drop off to far below. We will face folks more powerful than us that
exert their control over our lives or the lives of those we love. We will face bosses that threaten to fire
us. We will face actual job loss. We will face financial loss. We will face humiliation. We will face threats. We will face illness. We will face death. The question becomes, “where is our
focus?” Are we going to fall or drown in
fear because we are looking at the storm and hear “You of little faith, why did
you doubt?” or are we going to keep our eyes upon Jesus, upon our Savior, and
go straight into the storm, not a “it’s fixing to storm” situation, but a storm
that is raging around us, and step out on the water without fear…knowing that
the One calling us into the storm is the One who can save us.
It is that kind of childlike maturity that I believe prompted Paul
to write, “What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is
against us? … Who will separate us from
the love of Christ? Will hardship, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … No, in
all these things we are more than conquerors through him who first loved
us. For I am convinced that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to
come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”[iii]
My friends, the greatest threat against us is death…that is the
tallest giant, the deepest water, the fieriest storm, the highest wall…and, my
brothers and sisters, God has already defeated that enemy. With our greatest enemy defeated, there is
nothing left to fear, God has claimed the victory, and called us to keep our
eyes fixed upon Him, letting the storms fall from sight, jump into the water,
and walk, as He holds our hand.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
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