“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” Hebrews 10:23-25 NLT
Ebb and flow. Ebb and flow. Ebb. And. Flow. Many of us spend our lives longing for the beach. Something about water draws us to itself. Water has the power to hurt and harm just as it holds the power to cleanse and heal. While water holds amazing power the truth is, none of us can thrive without its life giving power.
I’ve found myself seeing the parallels when it comes to the church. The power of the waves is undeniable; there is swell and sway. Just as it can yield destructive power, it can also yield healing.
How much more so in the body of Christ?
We have the power to heal, to hurt, to ruin or restore. But we cannot deny the intention that God placed the body here for a reason and purpose. The purpose of the body of Christ, though abundantly imperfect, is meant to shine the love of Jesus to a world that needs the message that our Savior still walks among us.
As the water pushes and pulls over us, one thing is certain, there is a rhythm of ebb and flow when it comes to the body. We all contribute to the give and take, and we all need each other when the power of the ocean’s deep comes. When waves are relentless, we need refuge. When we don’t have enough strength, we need the collective pull. When we are fortified, we are positioned to help others. When we’re lifted up, we contribute where another lacks. And when others have an abundance, we can embrace the humility to be helped, just as we want to alleviate the burdens of another. What we’ve been given might just be for the sake of and benefit of others. But one thing is clear, we cannot use what we have been given merely for ourselves. We share because the tide is generous with us, and we when we lack we can trust that something is being given for us too.
The thing about the water of the oceans deep is this: we cannot control the wind or waves only our response to Master of the Sea. How much more is this true in the body of Christ? We are as connected and interdependent as the ecosystem of the ocean. We all need each other. We may not like it, we might rage against it. It is not an easy truth to digest…..but God reveals himself in community, in a way that solitary drops of water cannot possess. So, even if the temptation is real to do life on our own, the ocean is calling and we learn who we are from Master of the Sea, and ebb and flow of the body of Christ.
May you be found strong in Him, and loved deeply through community in the tide that the life he has given us offers.
So much love,
Joy