We were on a seven year old’s dream vacation. Waking up at six a.m. to collect shells, running on the beach all day, building sand castles you could sleep in, digging to China, and being lulled to sleep with a cup of hot cocoa were all on my agenda when we went to the beach with some friends over a decade (-: ago.
One stormy night, my mother had promised a walk to all of us kids. The weather outside was really quite atrocious from a grown-up’s perspective, but to our minds it was perfect beach-strolling conditions. Our friends’ dad decided to come along as well, so he grabbed a jacket and we all headed down the sidewalk to the beach. When we finally made it to the beach, my comrades and I made some wonderful discoveries. 1) It was terribly windy 2) We weighed about 70 pounds each and 3) If we “let ourselves go” the wind actually blew us down the beach! This of course was much better than any hot cocoa, and we screamed with delight as the wind swirled around us and forced us backwards. That is the seven year old’s perspective, but being 18 now, it might be interesting to also look at it from the grown-up’s point of view. 1) These are 80 mile an hour winds! 2) These kids aren’t strong and could get blown away!! 3) There our kids go like the nannies on Mary Poppins!!! Wait—come back! And with those words our fun ended. We had to plant our feet down on the ground, but even then we sort of drifted backwards. “We’re going home NOW!” one of the parents yelled above the wind, and so we began to struggle forward. Our heads bent against the blowing sand, our progress was slow but steady. However, as soon as we stopped to take a rest or look around, we began to drift backwards again. When we finally arrived back at the house, we were exhausted and sandy, but we took our hot cocoa and lay down in front of the fire, and, boy, did we have a story to tell!
I can’t help remembering that story when I think about the world and our perpetual battle against its sin. We headed out to the battlefield of life as baby Christians—tiny, weak, and naïve. In many areas we remain still tiny, weak, and naïve. How often we even revel in some of the world’s neon pleasures and allow ourselves to be blown in whatever direction the prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2) would blow us! Hebrews 10:32 says, “But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings.” It is only when our loving Father calls out to us that we stop, our ears tingle, and we breathlessly resume our
journey towards that loving voice. At first we pause, wanting to change but unsure of what to do, and the wind still batters and blows us back. It is only when we begin the struggle through the temptations and cruelties ahead that we can actually resist going backwards.
Know this: if you are stalled in your Christian walk, you are backsliding. These winds that we face, they are not light breezes. They are not even 80 mile an hour gales. No—we face hurricanes and typhoons, the strength of which is unfathomable. Ungodly friends, sinful books, secret sins, and lustful thoughts all make up this force that seeks to blow us down. We are helpless in our feeble struggle up the beach unless we do it through Christ who strengthens us. “For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.(Heb. 2:18)” And when we finally reach heaven, where crowns instead of hot cocoa await, we can at last see our Lord and bask in the warmth of His glory, and, boy, will we have stories to tell! So bend your head against the temptation, keep your eyes on Jesus, and join me in this struggle against Hurricane World!
One stormy night, my mother had promised a walk to all of us kids. The weather outside was really quite atrocious from a grown-up’s perspective, but to our minds it was perfect beach-strolling conditions. Our friends’ dad decided to come along as well, so he grabbed a jacket and we all headed down the sidewalk to the beach. When we finally made it to the beach, my comrades and I made some wonderful discoveries. 1) It was terribly windy 2) We weighed about 70 pounds each and 3) If we “let ourselves go” the wind actually blew us down the beach! This of course was much better than any hot cocoa, and we screamed with delight as the wind swirled around us and forced us backwards. That is the seven year old’s perspective, but being 18 now, it might be interesting to also look at it from the grown-up’s point of view. 1) These are 80 mile an hour winds! 2) These kids aren’t strong and could get blown away!! 3) There our kids go like the nannies on Mary Poppins!!! Wait—come back! And with those words our fun ended. We had to plant our feet down on the ground, but even then we sort of drifted backwards. “We’re going home NOW!” one of the parents yelled above the wind, and so we began to struggle forward. Our heads bent against the blowing sand, our progress was slow but steady. However, as soon as we stopped to take a rest or look around, we began to drift backwards again. When we finally arrived back at the house, we were exhausted and sandy, but we took our hot cocoa and lay down in front of the fire, and, boy, did we have a story to tell!
I can’t help remembering that story when I think about the world and our perpetual battle against its sin. We headed out to the battlefield of life as baby Christians—tiny, weak, and naïve. In many areas we remain still tiny, weak, and naïve. How often we even revel in some of the world’s neon pleasures and allow ourselves to be blown in whatever direction the prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2) would blow us! Hebrews 10:32 says, “But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings.” It is only when our loving Father calls out to us that we stop, our ears tingle, and we breathlessly resume our
journey towards that loving voice. At first we pause, wanting to change but unsure of what to do, and the wind still batters and blows us back. It is only when we begin the struggle through the temptations and cruelties ahead that we can actually resist going backwards.Know this: if you are stalled in your Christian walk, you are backsliding. These winds that we face, they are not light breezes. They are not even 80 mile an hour gales. No—we face hurricanes and typhoons, the strength of which is unfathomable. Ungodly friends, sinful books, secret sins, and lustful thoughts all make up this force that seeks to blow us down. We are helpless in our feeble struggle up the beach unless we do it through Christ who strengthens us. “For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.(Heb. 2:18)” And when we finally reach heaven, where crowns instead of hot cocoa await, we can at last see our Lord and bask in the warmth of His glory, and, boy, will we have stories to tell! So bend your head against the temptation, keep your eyes on Jesus, and join me in this struggle against Hurricane World!
Note: Picture from http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/01/17/massachusetts-oks-10-wind-power-requirement/
Lovely analogy, Lauren dear! Thanks for reminding us that resting for one minute is actually a sneaky way of "letting ourselves go". On we press!
ReplyDeleteI love the analogy! It was about the point where you talked about pausing a moment and beginning to slip backwards that it hit me: "I see where they're going with this!" :) Great post! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteSarah and Ben--thank you! I'm glad the analogy wasn't too obvious, but I was definitely speaking to myself as well!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the 100 degree weather!