A new word from Rich Dixon

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Most of us know the song Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious…I’ll bet you’re humming it right now.

Mary Poppins created a silly song around a silly word to comfort small children when they were scared at night. Today (courtesy of my friend Dick Foth) I propose another silly-looking word designed around Jesus’ words.

TAKECOURAGEIAMDON’TBEAFRAID

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A while back I talked about the time the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water. It’s late. They’ve been rowing all night. They’re tired and they think they’re seeing a ghost. They’re scared.

Jesus says, “Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

In a beautiful message, Dr. Foth pointed out that the middle sentence, “It is I,” is the Greek construction ego eimi. It’s the same phrase Jesus uses when He says, “I am,” as in “I am the way, I am the truth, I am the light …”

So we might hear Him making a stronger statement.

“Take courage. I am. Don’t be afraid.”

As the master storyteller, Dick somehow pivoted to talking about a Jewish friend who grew up hearing three commands from his mother: “Grow up. Get a job. Marry a nice Jewish girl.”

The man said he heard that advice so often he thought they were a single word: GrowupgetajobmarryaniceJewishgirl.

And as he always does, Dick brought us back to Jesus and suggested that we consider a new word:

TAKECOURAGEIAMDON’TBEAFRAID

Like Mary Poppins’ nonsense word, if you repeat if a few times it begins to stick. But unlike the song, this word encapsulates simple, eternal truth.

I don’t need to rely on my own ability. I don’t have to do courage alone.

It’s a pretty good thought for a lot of situations. I invite you to repeat it, perhaps say it out loud.

TAKECOURAGEIAMDON’TBEAFRAID