One of the privileges of being a father of three young children is the ability to watch some cartoons with them every once in a while.
The other day, my two youngest were watching a show called “Wild Kratts,” a show about two brothers who feature different wild animals. On this show they were introducing kids to the basilisk lizard (feel free to google it now to see it.) The Kratt brothers were showing how these lizards were different in size and body from other lizards, but what really set them apart was that they can walk/run on water! They can sometimes run up to 60 feet! (Feel free to google videos of that, too. It is pretty cool!)
But what was interesting about the two lizards that they had was that they were born in captivity, meaning that they were not born into the wild and therefore did not see other basilisks walking on water. So their experiment was to get them by some water to see if they would naturally do it.
At first the reptiles were hesitant to even go in the water, then they jumped in to swim. But finally, after some pushing and prodding, they ran on water!
Why would I be telling you about this? This is a church column, not a National Geographic column.
When I was watching this show, it reminded me a little bit of how Christians can be when introduced to the supernatural lifestyle.
We are currently going through the life of Elijah at our church and talking about how we, like Elijah, can live supernaturally in a complacent culture.
The first Sunday I introduced this, I could see some eyes that were a little bit like the basilisks born in captivity … a little unsure. Possibly questioning if I was a heretic.
Let me clarify about what I mean when I say “supernatural,” since you might have many different ideas about it. The simplest way I can describe it is living by the Spirit rather than by the flesh. Walking in forgiveness rather than bitterness. Walking in the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace etc.) rather than being “normal” and getting impatient, grumbling, constantly anxious, or just being selfish.
Yes, the supernatural can be people being healed, delivered, and miracles happening. I fully believe those are possible.
But I also think that some of us Christians have been in so much captivity where the idea of living differently from the culture around us seems impossible. Our captivity could come from the way we were raised, our experiences, and even our theology. That we are just here to wait around until we go to heaven instead of bringing heaven everywhere we go.
The funny thing about the basilisk is that it is also called “the Jesus lizard” since it can walk on water. And if I remember right, Jesus was not the only one who walked on water. Peter got out of his comfort zone, outside of everything he knew about water and gravity, and walked on water. How? By looking to Jesus and believing that he could do the supernatural, too.
May the believers of Rock County not live as captive basilisk lizards that are scared of what they are called to do.