OnFire #93 Anchor Games

Hi folks. I had a great birthday this week. Two ladies from my church showed up in the morning, dressed up in disguises with a salmon, cake, and a balloon. They didn’t even know I love fish. That was a lot of fun. Included among my presents were two books on canoeing, which will be very helpful as we continue to plan our upcoming trips.

Last week I mentioned that I had pictures of bent anchors from a ship that broke loose in a storm. I found them and posted them on the website www.onfireletter.com

A promo for a good Christian movie - “Facing the Giants” follows a high school football coach at a Christian school whose faith is challenged as life becomes more difficult on all fronts. In a bold move, he calls the team back to focus on serving God through their playing. Lots of drama and humour, and it will challenge your faith. Of course, don’t just take my word for it. Check it out. And, don’t forget, always preview a movie before using it in ministry.

We’ve been looking at the characters in the gospels. We started with the early disciples who responded to Jesus’ words, “Follow me.” Last week we noted that not everyone responded positively. Several people would not let go of the anchors which held them in place. We continue this chain of thought today.

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When the boys were younger I used to play a little game with them while they were trying to row the boat. As they struggled behind the oars, my challenge was to slip the anchor into the water without rattling it or making a splash. Eventually the rope would run out and fetch up the boat. At first the boys wouldn’t realize what was going on. They just knew they were rowing and not going anywhere. Of course, once they figured out this little game, they started to play it on me.

Case #2 was a teacher who was a little like my little red row boat before it came to the end of its rope. He was going along just fine until his anchor bit into bottom and he stopped.

We find him keenly interested in Matthew 8:19. “I will follow you wherever you go.” Something about him, however, suggested otherwise. Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20) With these words the rope attached to his anchor marked “security” came tight.

In other words, Jesus reminded him, “You have a comfortable life. Lots of security, stability. Predictability. Probably respect, too. Are you willing to give that up?”

Jesus was not suggesting that comfort is bad. Comfort and security, however, are heavy anchors which can hold our souls and are incompatible with following Jesus.

I’ve noticed an interesting contrast between youth and adults. It is relatively easy to organize a group of young people to go knocking on doors to promote a ministry program. It is a much different matter to get adults involved. They will drive cars, do crafts, or clean the toilets before going door to door. I think it jars their sense of comfort. Teens don’t seem to feel this as keenly. While this is, of course, a generalization, it illustrates how a sense of comfort and security can prevent us from engaging in service for Jesus.

Comfort, security and predictability know no age limits. At a Christian summer camp where I worked, some teens asked if there would be a water fight that week. “We always have a water fight,” they said. Their experience of “always” was a lot different from mine. Their “always” was based on the year before when we broke with tradition to have the water fight.

We are creatures who enjoy comfort and security. There are many who say that these things don’t matter, but we see the truth when it comes to change. We like what is familiar. “We never did it that way before,” is the rallying cry of many people who resist change, primarily because it upsets routine. The bigger the change, the greater the fear. It was too big of a change for the teacher who approached Jesus to give up his security, maybe even his respect, in order to follow Jesus.

Jesus has a way of calling us beyond the areas where we are comfortable. We like the idea of going with him, but silently the anchor of security begins to tighten its hold on our hearts.

Again, we find this principle at work - we can’t go with God and stay where we are. To truly grow we need to follow Jesus, even when it means the outcome is not predictable, even when it means we give up some of our own need for security and safety.

I hope this helps. Be onfire,

Troy

Feb 4, 2007