Rock

I adore the ocean and watching the shadows of people and clouds get tossed about on the surface of that majestic corpus of water.  It’s alive and attempting to consume everything that lay within its’ reach.   It’s also hypnotizing.  Gloriously blue depths look inviting, especially when brutally cold.  It calls out to you, even while the undercurrents have the ability to sweep you off into the depths at whim.

If I am not built on solid rock, I can feel the foundation beneath my feet sliding right out from under my weight, like that of the waves sucking the sand below me as I stand on the edges.  Have you looked at the landscape of the ocean?  Where the rock is, that’s the point which gets the hardest, most vicious beatings.  The sand is the inviting area, luring and daring you to inch forward into the blue.   It’s where you find the treasures of shells, sea life and trinkets to take home as memories.  I know I look over to the rocky beach with fear and nervousness at how fast the waves, which look so innocent over here on the sand, beat relentlessly on the rock.

Yet think about it; where are we told to build a house?  On the rock.  The sand will be washed away, but it looks so pleasing.  The rocks take a relentless beating;
 who in their right mind wants to venture over there??
Jesus did.  He didn’t shy away from the harshness of life, being relentless right back by sticking to His Word and His calling in His divinely human self.   

We all are allowed the chance to have God test our faithfulness.  Will we stand firm in His calling or be lured into danger?  When Jesus was tempted in the desert, He had the chance for all the glittery fame and wealth – imagined power, worldly power - while He was alone and hungry.  But it is not “by bread alone” that one lives, no matter the enticement of gorging ourselves.   We can stuff our lives with things that do not matter, trying to satisfy an inherent need that can only be fulfilled when we return to what was.

The ocean, I believe, is good for the soul.  It is a need that every human soul should fill at least once in their lives and I wish for that opportunity to all those who desire it.  It is important for the soul to hear God whispering words of encouragement.  When I take the time to ponder what God is saying, that I should turn my head and see how that rock still stands in the midst of being beaten, I am strengthened.  I can endure.  He loves me and wants me to hear what He is saying. 

There are so many opportunities you and I have in this world, daily, to hear God.  We can either miss the opportunity or take them and ‘ponder’ in our hearts. 

When one allows the enormity of a ferocious ocean to wash the ears, lips, eyes, and body, the experience cannot be duplicated by any other thing.  When one allows the enormity of Gods whisper to wash our ears, lips, eyes, and body – we are in the presence of God.  We will never be the same.

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