It is not the number of days  lived in this world that signals holy wisdom, but the days, and even the moments of eternal consequence, spent in humble, adoring, obedient, active faith in the living God – time that is saturated with Scripture and filled with ongoing prayer or prayerfulness.  These moments, infused with eternity, mature us sometimes far beyond our peers, far beyond our years and even the many years of the elderly (Job 32:9, Psalm 119:100).  This is the kind of life our Lord lived.

Note: This is an edited version of a previous post. It seemed especially appropriate to repost in light of the recent homegoing of two greatly beloved, exemplary servants of the Lord, Ken Smith and Denny Prutow.

Have you ever met a mature Christian?  That question’s not meant to be snarky. It’s meant to call attention to the truly special experience of interacting with people who sincerely (and sometimes unknowingly) exude from the core of their being what Paul calls the fruit of the Spirit: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5).  Their demeanor is calm and calming.  Ordinary conversations with them feel holy, and when you leave, you feel understood, taken seriously, and loved.  These people scare the stuff out of me! And I love it.      

Sometimes in life, the calm is more unnerving than the storm.  Think of the disciples during that one particularly horrific journey at sea, terror-stricken as fierce winds fell upon them and punishing waves pummeled their boat (Mark 4:37-41).  Panicked at the storm and indignant at their Lord who was sleeping through it all, they awake him, accuse him of not caring about them, and then become witnesses to one of the most unsettling declarations of peace ever uttered in this world.  Jesus rebukes their lack of faith, and then he speaks to the storm which was tormenting them.  “Peace” he says, and peace happens!  The storm simply stops.  Raging creation is brought to sudden silence and modesty by its creator, and in the holy quiet which followed, the disciples got _really _scared.  They ask one another, “What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the waves obey him?”  Their feelings of awe were now properly aligned.  After all, which is more worthy of dread and wonder, of acclaim and fearful admiration – a storm, or someone who can calm it simply by speaking?

In the violent word-storms of the digital age, and in the fuss and fury of the struggles and pains of life in a fallen world that seems perpetually on fast-forward, this same Jesus calls us to peace and grants it as our faith gazes unwaveringly upon him.  Isaiah 26 tells us that God keeps in a state of perfect peace those whose hearts are stayed upon him.  Mature Christians are those for whom the risen Son fills the whole field of their soul’s vision.  They just love their Lord, and they know he’s alive.  Their joyful trust is more than the mixed light and heat of early faith, the inconstant fireworks which burn and shine for a moment but then fade into darkness and confusion just as quickly. 

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