PHOTO EPISTLE #21 – White Water Christians

There’s nothing like arriving to the beach to find tons of seaweed washed up where you hoped to be swimming…unless you plan on just taking beautiful photos:) This photo reminds me of a sermon I once heard. It still ranks to this day as one of the best sermons I’ve ever heard. That could be because  I grew up surfing and the teacher used surfing as an analogy for obeying and serving God. This old teacher either had to have surfed in his younger days or really did a great job researching how to catch and ride different types of waves. I apologize now for not remembering the teachers name. For now, I’ll call him Pastor John after another of my favorite teachers.

John described the options surfer have. Up close to the shore, you can catch smaller waves. Waves easier to manage. The problem is this is were the seaweed tends to gather. The seaweed much of the time has little crabs that feel creepy when they get on you. Worse, is when jellyfish are lurking, unseen, just under the seaweed. Further out is were the big surf is. When those waves crash, a billowing torrent of white water is produced, along with exciting anticipation. Once surfers paddle out with the channel current just past the white water, they will turn their boards horizontal to the coast and make their way to where the surf is lining up. Once they are in position they have to be patient and wait for the right wave. In surf conditions, the waves come in sets. Sometimes its 3 and other times up to 10. One thing I found to be a constant was usually the 3rd wave that was the best and the biggest wave. So, patience and timing are important elements for selecting the right wave. As surfers have selected the right wave, timing becomes crucial! When the wave approaches and begins to stand up, surfers want to start paddling so they can match the speed and angle to be able to stand up on their boards and enjoy the ride. This is a lot easier said than done!!!. That speed differs for each wave and so it really becomes a matter of sense and feel surfers develop over time for when the angle and speed is right for that particular wave. Once surfers have landed a wave, they are no longer in control. With bigger waves you can lean into the wave and it will just carry you. As you become enveloped by some waves and find yourself in this incredible tube and you’re completely at the mercy of this wave. No words can describe this feeling. Once the wave spits you out, if it did not eat you, you feel like you just visited Heaven.

There’s really a number of spiritual points that John went on to make after describing what it is like to surf waves. For now I just want to share a couple of those allegories. The main point that stood out to me was if you want to surf the big waves, you have to get out where the white water is. Otherwise, you are destined to become a seaweed surfer. Scripture calls us to be white water surfers. The life God intended for us is like riding big waves. Then once we have decided to ride Gods big waves, if we will lean into Him, He will carry us through to the other side. Again this analogy can branch off into so many truths, the second one that grabbed me was who we, as Christians, are in Christ and how God wants us to live our lives. 2 Corinthians 5:19-20  “that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” A White Water Christian is one who has embraced the title of Ambassador and is willing to execute the duties of that office, sharing the “message of reconciliation” to others. The reward has nothing to do with our eternal security, it simply has to do with God wanting us to experience the joy He has for us, found only in serving side by side with Him in the fields. If we hold back, we miss out on incredible blessings. John then pointed out that seaweed surfers were Christians who have never really embraced their Ambassadorship and instead spent their lives chasing worldly dreams. For me, been there, done that…this photo serves as a reminder to not slip back into living life as a seaweed Christian. I just want to be a White Water Christian!

Totally off subject, well sort of, check out http://www.walkingonwater.org It’s a great Christian surfing community/ministry that reaches out to the young surfing culture for Christ. In fact, they were involved with the recent film out at theaters called Soul Surfer.

the Jesusfreak