October 7, 2005
Picture this – a small row boat with some one in it lying down with their leg hanging over the edge and their toes trailing in the water with their hands behind their head looking up at the sky with that dreamy look in their eyes.
It looks like an ideal peaceful picture doesn’t it? Not a care in the world, staring at the sky and just floating along. Do you realize that this is how a lot of Christians live their relationship with God? They float along letting others do the work and take the risks.
I don’t want my life in Christ to be that way. If you look at the Depth, breadth and width of God and everything that entails you know there has to be more than the surface of the ocean most people see.
Have you ever seen a Jacque Cousteau special? There are mysteries to the ocean that we will never know. Not because we don’t want to explore, no! Because so much of it is unreachable.
We can swim in the water but the depth we can go is only 30 or 40 feet for a good swimmer, less if you don’t swim much. You can go down deeper and longer if you have a snorkel. With Scuba Gear you can go down hundreds of feet and stay for a couple of hours. Submarines can go down thousands of feet but you can’t see out very well because of the darkness and the size of the port holes.
If you liken God and his world to the Ocean it can be like this.
A Baby Christian –
He is saved and realizes that Jesus is his savior and that Eternal Life in heaven is a possibility. Now he gets himself a boat and goes out on the water. This is great, no worries, no one bothering him. He lies in the boat looking at the water and sky thinking how great God is to let him get this close. Life is good. For a lot of Christians this is as far as it goes. A storm comes up and decides this isn’t for him so he rows to shore and goes back to the other life he knew, remembering the boat and sometimes going back to take a little vacation but only when the weather is fair. Other Christians are happy just staying in the boat till they go home to Heaven and are surprised that they end up there because they weren’t sure of their salvation.
A Toddler Christian –
He gets tired of the boat but knows he doesn’t want to go back. He decides a little swim would be good. He dives down about 20 feet and sees the beauty of the world below but can’t get any closer. He stays for a minute looking with longing at that world then goes up and gets back in his boat. Thinking of the world below but not willing to take the risk to go deeper. The storms come but he weathers them, waiting for them to go by so he can swim again and look at the beauties he can’t share in.
A Child Christian –
He wants to take the risk to go deeper so he searches the boat and finds a mask, snorkel and flippers. Now he can go deeper and stay longer. So he dives in and goes deep. Instead of seeing the beauty of God from above he is now in it. He can touch it, swim with it. Like the fish coming up to get petted and the plants that are at the bottom that are so beautiful. But the time is short because of the lack of Oxygen. This is very satisfying for a while and it fills the need in the swimmer and he is happy to dive and swim for the time the Snorkel allows. Some times the swimmer gets caught in the plants or the fish get aggressive and the swimmer is scared. He hurries to his boat and vows not to get in the water again. He fondly remember the world below but is happy to wait for Heaven because he knows it is his and he doesn’t have to worry about eternal life any more.
A Teenage Christian –
Snorkeling is great but it doesn’t satisfy any more. Once again he searches the boat and finds some Scuba gear. This is more complicated so it takes some time to figure out how to put it on and make it work. Once it is working he jumps in and goes as deep as he did when snorkeling, not trusting the equipment yet. As he gets used to it he goes deeper. He sees and experiences things he didn’t even know exists. Miracle’s he calls them, wonders he had only heard about he is seeing and in some cases they are coming through him. But soon the air runs low and he has to go back to the boat. He works on getting the air refilled so he can go back. Soon he gets to the point where the boat is just a resting place to refill his needs so he can go back into the deeps of Gods wondrous miracles.
A Mature Christian –
The boat is no longer sufficient for his needs, he get a submarine and a more advanced scuba outfit. He can take the sub down to depths that he never could have with just the Scuba gear he had. More wonders are seen but satisfaction is not there because he is separated from the world of God by the protection of the subs hull. He puts on his advanced scuba gear and goes out to the world. With his light and the light of the sub he sees things he has never heard of before. Things coming through him that he never dreamed of. Now he gets back in his sub and goes to the surface and finds other Christians who haven’t even tried the snorkel and says “come with me and let me show you the wonders of the world of God” he teaches them to use the snorkel, then he teaches them to use the Scuba gear. All the time telling them what awaits them as they learn from him. he makes their time in the boat shorter then his time. The sub is big and filled with everything they need and his knowledge to make their trip shorter. He went through all the trials and errors to help others from having to take the long way. Many get to experience the wondrous world below who never would have made it that far on their own. So now because of him there are more Christians deep in Christ because he wanted to share what he learned.
An Old Christian – Not satisfied with the sub and the Scuba Gear he implores God to take away his weaknesses and be able to rest in Christ completely. God makes these changes in him so that he doesn’t need to use the Sub or the Scuba gear. He can just walk into the water with nothing but the hand of God for protection. To be in God’s world like when he first swam feeling the water around him, floating and resting in God but with all the wonders of the deep around him. He can go to any depth he wants. Now he can go to his boat and push it to shore so a new Christian can be born and learn the wonders of the Experience of God.
