Shipwreck

Suppose you or I was marooned on an island. We scoured the island & on the eastern most shore saw the remains of shipwreck. The ship we approached had long been left vacant with the wear of the sea showing on it's hull. In the furthest reach of our gaze we could see western most shore of land, a land we knew would lead us home. After a short time, most of us would set our minds & efforts on repairing this worn vessel. We would search the island for supplies & pray for ways to keep from sinking. Perhaps, there would even come a time when the ship would become sea worthy again, certainly a reason to rejoice. However, soon we would realize the ship was to large to unearth & cast off under our own strength. Not only must the ship be repaired & worthy of sailing but the tide must rise in order to lift the ship from the grips of the earth.

 

 It is not enough to simply repair the holes in a grounded ship but there must also be an accompanying  rising of the tide & wind for the sails. The sea must replace the earth beneath the ship or it will never sail. The wind must come to move the ship westward or the waves will press it back to shore. So it is not enough to abstain from sin. Abstaining from sin is only partial obedience & partial obedience leaves us as a lukewarm human. No real love or good exists in the lukewarm & no one desires the halfhearted, especially God.

"So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth." (Revelation 3:16)

If we only desire the removal of sin without it being replaced by grace we launch ourselves into an infinitely unfulfilled & ultimately hopeless existence. If only the sin is removed & not replaced by good, it leaves a person locked in a place of apathy, pride or any variety of other spiritual diseases. The sea of grace can come to tear the vessel from the mire. The tide will rise on us as our faith in Jesus grows.

Faith, then, is not enough. As the ship is repaired & the tide has risen, there is still no wind for the sails. James, the half brother brother of Jesus, writes, "In the same way, faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead." So our good actions done in Christ Jesus will fill our sails & we will set to sea. It is not our works that have see nus to freedom but the work of Christ on the cross. However, when Jesus makes his home in us, works are necessary in order for us to love our neighbor. Jesus himself did not sit idly when He was in the flesh on the earth, but served, healed & loved in unparalleled abundance. 

We were not destined to live forever away from home as a ship is not meant to have only the rocks & sand meet with it's hull. We are meant for far more. We are meant to be a vessel prepared for sea & set on returning home.