In 1952, Florence attempted to swim the 26 miles between Catalina Island and the California coastline. As she began, she was flanked by small boats that watched for sharks and were prepared to help her if she got hurt or grew tired. After about 15 hours a thick fog set in. Florence began to doubt her ability, and she told her mother, who was in one of the boats, that she didn’t think she could make it. She swam for another hour before asking to be pulled out, unable to see the coastline due to the fog. As she sat in the boat, she found out she had stopped swimming just one mile away from her destination. Two months later, she tried again. The same thick fog set in, but she succeeded in reaching Catalina. She said that she kept a mental image of the shoreline in her mind while she swam. She later swam the Catalina channel on two additional occasions
As Christians, just like Florence Chadwick, when we lose sight of our vision we can start to shrink back from the God design on our lives. All too often we set out with faith and passion, but as soon as pressure, challenges or hardships come along (or fog in Florence’s case), we end up settling down or giving up!
As you are about to read in the story below, Jesus is always calling us forward and He never applauds safety, luke-warm, passive living. We have a theology that in Jesus the best is yet to come (note we said the best, not always the easiest)!
Mark.4:35-41
That day as evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
HELLO FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF CONVENIENCE
Take note that Jesus called his disciples to cross over to the other side of the lake, “As evening came”. It was not a convenient time (they were tired, been out all day, longing for some respite), nor was it a convenient place where Jesus proposed for them to go (they were local boys, other side of the lake was not a place they were supposed to frequent).
Way too often we find ourselves settling for convenience saying things like, “when I’ve overcome this sin”, “when I’ve got more time”, “when I get the promotion”, or “when I’ve attended that course.” All these excuses really are illusions for settling for safety and passivity.
“It is not so much the aim of the devil to lure me with evil as it is to preoccupy me with the meaningless”
In the story above, Jesus is putting a robust nature in these boys to never settle, to not back down, and to not water down. Jesus knows that he has more than they could ever imagine ahead of them, and in this moment where they would be tempted to stay on the shore of comfort and convenience, Jesus asks them to respond courageously.
The infamous lead singer of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain once said, “It is better to burn than to fade away”.
The great Christian pioneer and hero of the faith John Wesley echoed similar passionate sentiments when he spoke about his Christian faith and preaching, “I set myself on fire and people come to watch me burn”.
We are called to a wild adventure in Jesus! We are called to be pioneers and risk-takers. This is not some moralistic patch or religious behaviour modification process we are on…this is joy unspeakable and zeal uncontainable!
Where have you allowed yourself to settle down, back down or to be watered down?
Don’t settle for this side of ease, comfort and safety but rather make the decision today to cross over to the other side by throwing down the white-picket fence of convenience and pick up the danger encircled path of obedience.
See you on the other side!