This is the Van Moul podcast with Marty Solomon. I'm his Goho Sprint Billings. Today we have a little bit different episode for you. Marty interacts with the story of Peter walking in the water by sharing some of his thoughts originally written years ago.

Yeah, so my daughter today, Abigail, she is 10 years old at the time of this recording. And when she was two, so I'd be eight years ago, I wrote a book and then I wrote a book a few years later for my son.

I just realized when I was a parent and I was watching my kids when they were really little, particularly as they got out of infancy and became toddlers. Like I was seeing all of these things in my kids that I just I don't know if I know how to articulate it. I became profoundly aware of I'm getting a glimpse of a perspective I've never had before in my life. And that's not a knock on single people or people aren't able to have children or any of those things I don't want that to be perceived that way.

It was just me making observations about the life that I was experiencing. And out of that, I wrote a book and it's not a book for publication. I never wrote it to be published someday, Brett and I we've chatted about maybe I'll get it edited and proofread and haven't some form where people can get it for a donation or something like that. Maybe someday.

But today we don't have that. And but I wrote this book just for my kids. I wrote a book for Abigail and then I wrote a book for Ezekiel. Abigail's book was called When Two Year Olds Preach and the Ezekiel's book was called When Five Year Olds Preach. And I took all the content of that book from that stage of their development for Abigail was when she was kind of zero to two. And then Zeke was kind of from that three to five age range. And I wrote these books about observations that I was making.

So one of those chapters and of course, you know me I intermixed. It wasn't just about watching my kids. It was about the Bible. So I was taking Bible lessons, kind of learning them through the lens of my children and then writing about Bible lessons through my through lessons, I learned with my kids.

So one of those was on the next story in Matthew, which is Peter walking on water. And I just have I just loved it. I have a hard time teaching on the story. That's really not true. But when I get an opportunity to teach and use the chapter that I wrote years ago, I love to share it that way. So that's what I'm going to do today.

But we made a promise, Brent Billings. Yeah, I think maybe just to set the stage. Yes, I should read the passage at hand and the perfect. And then you can share your thoughts. All right. Sounds good.

So this is the end of Matthew 14. Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side while he dismissed the crowd after he had dismissed them. He went up on a mountain side by himself to pray later that night. He was there alone. And the boat was already a considerable distance from the land buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it shortly before dawn. Jesus went out to them walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake. They were terrified.

It's a ghost, they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them, take courage. It is I. Don't be afraid. Lord, if it's you, Peter replied, tell me to come to you on the water. Come, he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and began to sink, cried out. Lord, save me.

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. You of little faith, he said. Why did you doubt? And when they climbed in the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, truly, you are the Son of God. When they had crossed over, they landed at Ganesirate. And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all this rounding country. People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak and all who touched it were healed.

So I'm going to read a chapter from this book. I'm just going to be reading. So sorry for the awkwardness, but let me prepare for that. Wrote a chapter titled She Giggled. And here it is. I continue to be fascinated by Jesus' exhortation to have faith like a child. There is something about the nature of a child's understanding of his or her world that Jesus finds exemplary. It's hard for me, if I'm honest to actually consider a child being an example of faith.

At best, I thought of this lesson as cute, but certainly not packed with precious depth. And yet, I guess I've interacted with enough of Jesus' teachings to know better. As a Jewish rabbi teaching his disciples valuable and important lessons, I know that if a rabbi such as Jesus takes the time to set up a scenario and then uses it as a picture of spiritual formation, the listeners had better take note.

Visible lessons from the rabbi are never intended to be empty or easy for that matter. In short, I need to stop treating that lesson as a trivial lesson as trivial or something that belongs on flannel graph.

Part of my experience as a father as I continue to make valuable observations has been to notice how much profound depth there is to this very lesson. As a story goes on in one gospel, Jesus gathers the children around him.

How long does this gathering and discussion take place? We're not told. I have always assumed that Jesus takes about 20 seconds to gather some kids up, looks at his disciples and other listeners and says, unless you have faith like a child, you cannot enter the kingdom.

Then I have always imagined him to usher in the children away so that he could proceed with his much more important significant and profound rabbinical teachings for the day.

But after watching children at great length, I have begun to question my chronological assumptions. Perhaps this wasn't merely a two-minute lesson that day. Perhaps it didn't resemble the silly children's sermon the pastor gives before the real message.

Perhaps this teaching was much more profound than I had realized. Let me just suggest another possible scenario.

Imagine Jesus and the disciples arose that morning, went out to their typical duties, gathered in the synagogue, study room for morning readings and left for the day's adventures.

I picture maybe Matthew asking the question, Rabbi, who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? I picture Jesus pausing, silently gazing off into a nearby village and without a word marching off in the direction of the houses.

Jesus arrives on the outskirts of the village and sees a whole host of children, ten or fifteen of them playing in a courtyard. He leads his disciples into the courtyard with the honored parents watching and welcoming him and his disciples gracious to have such esteemed guests.

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