Feb 09, 2018 – Mark 1
"Come, follow
me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." Mark 1:17
Jesus may start with
us in the shallow end of the pool, but He loves us too much to leave us there.
When my daughter was very young, I took her to the swimming
pool in our apartment complex so that I could teach her how to swim. She was afraid of the water, and only liked
being in the shallow end where she felt in control. I would try to get her to swim, but to no
avail. She would cry when I tried to
walk her into the deeper water, and rejected any efforts to learn how to float. I had about given up trying to teach her,
until she discovered the fun of “jumping” into my arms from the side of the
pool. Once she started, she didn’t want
to stop! She would come up to the edge,
grab her nose, take a deep breath, and jump into my arms – laughing and loving
it, wanting me to lift her back up on the sidewalk so she could do it
again. She must have jumped into my arms
at least 50 times before she realized I had been slowly inching deeper into the
pool and catching her where she could not touch bottom. The fears of the deep end were reduced by the
joys of the jump. From there, she
started trying to learn how to swim, and by the end of the summer was a fish in
the water!
Jesus knows that our original created purpose has been
damaged by sin, leaving us in fear of what could be and should be our mission
in life. Instead, we have stayed in the
shallow end of life, settling for substitutes and living for less, instead of
learning how to swim in the deep end where all the fun really is. So Jesus came and offered to all of us a new
opportunity. Instead of settling for the
shallow end of life, jump into His arms and experience the joy of the
jump! Find out the amazing ability we
have been given to swim in the deep end, and open up our whole world to
discover what God has in mind for our lives.
If we’re honest with ourselves, we already know that God’s
purposes for our lives is far deeper than this shallow stuff we settle
for. Humans settle for shallow happiness
instead of jumping into deep joy.
Americans often pursue the ‘monopoly’ money that fades, instead of the
riches of heaven. We see all the time
people sacrifice their true identity in Christ to stay in the shallow end of
image. And how many times have we
settled for the kiddie pool of selfishness, than to launch ourselves into the
loving arms of our mighty God. Isn’t it
time to stop messing around with the shallow end and jump into the deep?
That’s what Jesus offered those fisherman. He provided them hope for a worthy life. He offered them arms that would catch them
every time they followed. He called them
to a salvation that not only provided an eternal life, but one that changed
their lives now. Jesus often starts in
the shallow end, but He loves us too much to stay there. The real fun is in the deep end!
Coming to Jesus is not just for salvation, but for being
changed to support His original mission.
No comments:
Post a Comment