To the Shore or To the Sea

A few months ago our family spent a few days at the beach to celebrate my 60th birthday.  The weather was absolutely wonderful and I enjoyed just floating around in the water, letting the waves and current push me wherever it wanted.

I noticed an interesting thing in this activity.  The more I pulled away from the shore, the more the tendency of the current was to pull me out to sea. (Not a good way to end a birthday celebration.)  However, the closer I was to the shore, the more the tendency of the current was to pull me to shore.



"Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you." (James 4:8.)

This principle is true of our Christian lives as well.  The closer we are to the Lord, the more the tendency of our lives is to be close to Him.  The more we pull away and ignore His truths, the more the tendency of our lives will be to be drawn to the world.

While I did enjoy just floating, and I love to be far enough out so that my feet don't touch the bottom, I did keep an eye on my distance from the shore.  I noticed that Glen, too, was watching me in case he needed to jump in to save me.  (Fortunately, that was not necessary.)  If I had not been watchful, I may have found myself too far out to easily swim back.

We must have that same watchfulness in our walks with the Lord.  Growing in the Lord does not happen without response and action on our part.  In fact, Paul rebuked the Hebrews because they should have been teachers by the time he was writing to them, but they "need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat." (Hebrews 5:12.)  We must guard lest distraction, discouragement or deception pull us away from the sound shore of Christ.  We must take care to do the things we are called to do so that we will be strong in the Lord and always growing in our knowledge and experience of Him.

"But grow in grace, 

and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  

To Him be glory both now and for ever.  

Amen."

2 Peter 3:18