A sailboat almost looks forlorn when it sits tethered to a dock. Its sleek hull suggests a design that embraces movement but its bare pole of a mast awkwardly thrusts upward in stark contrast. Most sailboats spend the vast majority of their time this way, bobbing listlessly like water-bound ornaments to the piers and marinas where they are held captive. But on rare occasions the owners will slip aboard, untie the lines binding the craft, and motor out to the open water. There comes a time when enough open water permits the sail to be raised. Finally the sailboat is fully dressed and the promise of the hull is met when an equally sleek and billowed sail unfurls and is quickened by a breeze, and the boat moves with a power that is, at the same time, invisible and full of grace.
This is the picture that comes to mind of one who has been born anew through the miracle of faith in our living God. Even though we have been joined with our Lord, we often sit awkwardly tethered to a pier. We have potential for motion but need to move out to the larger water where the promise of our design is completed, as the sail of faith is raised to catch the very present wind-breath of the Spirit of God. That is when our design is finally realized and we move with a power that is, at the same time, invisible and full of grace.
John 3: The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."
blessings,
Rob Smith
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