If you are ever near The Noelte house when the sun is up, there is a good chance you will hear the roar of a 12-volt battery motor blended with the deafening sound of plastic wheels grinding against the concrete. The power wheels style John Deere Gator has become the ride of choice for our sons Knox and Eli. Whether it is driving garbage bags to the road on trash day or creating a groove in the grass during a circular joy ride, the John Deere Gator is on the move. We joke that it probably has more miles on it than my ten-year-old truck does. To put it into perspective, they have had the little truck for just two months and my dad is already researching where we can purchase replacement tires online.

Knox (3.5 years old) is usually the driver and Eli (1.5) is his trusty passenger. Recently, Eli has taken an interest in trying to drive this thing himself. He is one of those kids that just goes for it whether he is ready or not. He doesn’t understand the steering wheel or even what side to sit on while driving. Despite his lack of knowledge and preparation, he seems to sneak into the vehicle every time his brother walks away. He will slam the gas pedal with an outreached toe (I think he stretches so hard his foot grows 2 sizes) and routinely crashes the gator into the side of the house, tree or one of our “adult” vehicles. He’ll say, “uh oh” and look around to see if anyone saw. Once he locks eyes with one of us, he will give a cute little squinted eyed smile. He then smashes the gas again and lets the wheels just spin until his brother sprints over there to put it in reverse.

As a dad, I love watching Eli’s enthusiasm to drive the Gator. I believe God loves watching our eagerness to serve Him as well.  I imagine driving that little Gator is intimidating, but Eli doesn’t seem to care that he’s going to crash. It’s as if his memory is completely wiped every time he lays his foot (or pinky toe) down on the pedal (pictured below). I can think of countless times where God was calling me into something that seemed way too intimidating to wrap my head around. I can’t always say that I just hit the gas and went for it either.

There is no doubt that God is always calling us to step out and mature spiritually. Look at a few examples of what we read in scripture.

I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. Philippians 1:9 NLT

Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, Hebrews 6:1 ESV

By now you should be teachers. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the first things you need to know from God’s Word. You still need milk instead of solid food. Hebrews 5:12 NIV

Watching Eli take on the John Deere Gator has caused me to reflect and ask myself a few questions. Take a second to really thinking about these.

• Am I looking for ways to mature in my walk with God?
• What is Jesus calling me into right now that will grow me spiritually?
• What (if anything) is holding me back?
• What one small step can I take today towards that growth?

Maybe for you it’s attending that bible study that you know would be helpful, praying out loud with your spouse, serving that neighbor, sharing Jesus with a co-worker, or getting into God’s word more frequently. No matter what it is, there is no denying that Jesus wants us to grow.

While watching Eli, I think I’m most inspired when he lets his big brother take over the operation of the vehicle. You can tell he’d rather do it himself but submits to his brother’s knowledge of driving it. It’s as if he’s saying, “I tried and wrecked so I’m going to let Knox ride us around the yard!” The squinty little smile returns quickly as he holds on tight and enjoys the ride. Perhaps the loudest noise of all is when they crash together and laugh uncontrollably while they figure out what to do next.   

Without exception, Jesus is always calling me to go deeper with Him in some way. I’m learning from my boys to step out and just go for it. There is more spiritual growth in wrecking with Jesus than to never try at all!   

Just fishing with my daddy,

Ryan Noelte