He Was Nicknamed "The Crocodile ...

He was nicknamed “THE CROCODILE HUNTER”, and he was a unique man with a smile as wide as fun itself and Australian to the core. You couldn’t help but remember STEVE IRWIN! He and his wife Terri owned and operated Australia Zoo in a little place called Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. Julie and I visited the zoo with our kids when they were young and watched the crocodiles being fed. It was the most amazing and dangerous show I had ever seen.

Steve was exuberance and enthusiasm itself with a broad Australian accent, khaki shorts, and the catchphrase “CRIKEY!” He was a great communicator who drew you in by his enthusiasm and dangerous abandon. He was a WILDLIFE WARRIOR. He died from the barb of a sting ray.

Kevin Costner apparently called him a fearless man who was BRAVE ENOUGH TO LET PEOPLE SEE HIM AS HE WAS. (CNN. 2006-09-20). I’d agree with that. While Kevin Costner starred in a movie called DANCES WITH WOLVES, Steve Irwin was wrestling with crocodiles in real life. I’m sure WRESTLES WITH CROCODILES is his Indian name or at least needs to be.

His wife Terri, thinks he had faith in God. I didn’t ever hear him speak about God but I liked the man. He seemed to be the genuine article. His personality and lifestyle made you pay attention.

In Matthew 3 I see another Steve Irwin kind of man, only more direct and real again because he paid attention to God. All of us have our crocodiles to wrestle and John considered the PHARISEES TO BE REPTILIAN. He pounced on them every opportunity he could. One time when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him he said. “You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee God’s coming wrath?” (Matthew 3:7)

He also wasn’t concerned with how he looked. He was a true WILDERNESS WARRIOR. He wore the khaki’s of his day. Matthew 3:4 (NLT) says “John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey.” Rather than promoting himself, John the Baptist was BRAVE ENOUGH TO LET PEOPLE SEE JESUS FOR WHO HE WAS and his message has impacted the world. He was humble enough to say “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.” (John 3:30 NLT)